Phylogenetic placement of Trichonympha

Flagellated protists of the Class Hypermastigida have previously been classified on morphology alone, since no molecular sequences have been available. We have isolated DNA from 350 cells of the hypermastigote Trichonympha, manually collected from the hindgut of Zootermopsis angusticollis, and used this DNA as template for polymerase chain reaction amplification of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene. The DNA sequence of the amplified fragment is closely related to that of a previously-unidentified gut symbiont from the termite Reticulitermes flavipes, and phylogenetic analysis places both sequences as a sister group to the known trichomonads, in agreement with the morphological classification.