Diversity, Ecology and Genetics of Ciliates
A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 3624
Special Issue Editors
Interests: ciliates; Parameciu; protists; symbiosis; bacterial symbionts; microbiomes; mating types; speciation mechanisms; the species concept
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Ciliates (Ciliophora) are one of the most diverse groups of protists. Different ciliates occur in various ecological niches, and they are widespread and abundant in many environments, from deserts to the polar oceans, and from bromeliad tank water to the rumen of cattle. They are an indispensable link in aquatic food webs. Short generation times make ciliates ideal bioindicators. Some ciliates live as symbionts in animals, or they can host pro- and eukaryotic symbionts themselves. Although ciliates can be morphologically identified because of their characteristic and robust shape due to the cell cortex structure and other features, the existence of cryptic or genetically isolated sibling species is quite common. Thus, Ciliophora is a group of choice when studying speciation processes and their underlying mechanisms. Moreover, the unique separation of two coexisting nuclei into germline and soma made ciliates an evolutionarily successful group. This nuclear dualism makes the genetics of ciliates unusual, but, at the same time, ciliates serve as fascinating model organisms, continuously providing genetic and epigenetic insights. A number of ciliate genomes have already been sequenced, and the data is continuously accumulating.
It is our pleasure to invite all interested colleagues to contribute to the Special Issue, “Diversity, Ecology and Genetics of Ciliates”. We aim to provide a platform highlighting new research and significant advances in the diversity, taxonomy, and genetics of ciliates. We invite submissions of research articles, reviews, or short communications on ciliate diversity, genomics, speciation, and evolution. Furthermore, reports on ciliate communities from various biotopes and habitats, and interactions among ciliates and other microorganisms will be gladly considered.
Dr. Alexey Potekhin
Dr. Bettina Sonntag
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Ciliophora
- diversity
- protistology
- biogeography
- microbial communities
- symbiosis
- speciation
- macronucleus
- epigenetics
- genomics
- adaptation and evolution
- bioindicators
- ecology
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