The phylogenetic position of the amoeboflagellate Willaertia deduced from SSUrDNA sequences

The SSUrDNA of Willaertia magna and Naegleria minor nov. comb. (previously described as W. minor) was sequenced and aligned with sequences published for species of other genera of the family Vahlkampfiidae: Vahlkampfia lobospinosa, Tetramitus rostratus, Paratetramitus jugosus and Naegleria gruberi. These alignments, and the phylogenetic trees deduced from them, confirmed that N. minor belongs indeed to the genus Naegleria, whereas W. magna is quite distinct from Naegleria spp. Phylogenetic trees based on alignments with other organisms confirm that W. magna belongs to the family Vahlkampfiidae. The genetic distances within the cluster V. lobospinosa, T. rostratus and P. jugosus are similar to the genetic distances between different species of Naegleria. Therefore, the different genera in the first cluster could be considered different species of one genus or, alternatively, Naegleria spp. might be upgraded to distinct genera.