Ministeria vibrans

Ministeria vibrans is a bacterivorous amoeba with filopodia that lives suspended by a flagellum-derived stalk attached to the substrate.^[2] The life cycle of Ministeria remains unknown.

Ministeria vibrans
Ministeria vibrans
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
(unranked):	Opisthokonta
(unranked):	Holozoa
(unranked):	Filozoa
Class:	Filasterea
Order:	Ministeriida
Family:	Ministeriidae
Genus:	Ministeria Patterson, Nygaard, Steinberg & Turley, 1993[1]
Species:	M. vibrans
Binomial name
Ministeria vibrans Tong, 1997

Taxonomy

Two Ministeria species have been reported so far,^[3] both of them from coastal marine water samples: M. vibrans and M. marisola.^[1] However, there is currently only one culture available, that of Ministeria vibrans.

Evolution

M. vibrans occupies a key position in understanding animal origins. It is a member of the Filasterea, that is the sister-group to Choanoflagellatea and Metazoa.^[2][4] Microvilli in Ministeria suggest their presence in the common ancestor of Filasterea and Choanoflagellata. The kinetid structure of Ministeria is similar to that of the choanocytes of the most deep-branching sponges, differing essentially from the kinetid of choanoflagellates. Thus, kinetid and microvilli of Ministeria illustrate features of the common ancestor of three holozoan groups: Filasterea, Metazoa, and Choanoflagellata.^[5]