Bikont
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Apusozoa |
A Bikont is a eukaryotic cell with two flagella, developed by a unique pathway. Another shared, new trait of bikonts is the fusion of two genes into a single unit: the genes for thymidylate synthase (TS) and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) encode a single protein with two functions (Cavalier-Smith, 2006). The genes are separately translated in unikonts.
Some research suggests that a unikont (a eukaryotic cell with a single flagellum) was the ancestor of opisthokonts and Amoebozoa, and a bikont was the ancestor of Archaeplastida, Excavata, Rhizaria, and Chromalveolata. Cavalier-Smith has suggested that Apusozoa, which are typically considered incertae sedis, are in fact bikonts.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Thomas Cavalier-Smith (2006). "Protist phylogeny and the high-level classification of Protozoa". European Journal of Protistology 39 (4): 338-348.
- Alexandra Stechmann and Thomas Cavalier-Smith (2003). "The root of the eukaryote tree pinpointed". Current Biology 13 (17).
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