View source for Mayorella

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{{Automatic taxobox
| taxon = Mayorella
| authority = Schaeffer 1926<ref name="Schaeffer 1926"/>
| parent_authority = Schaeffer 1926<ref name="Schaeffer 1926"/>
| image = Строение амебы Mayorella sp.jpg
| image_caption = An unidentified ''Mayorella'' species
|diversity= [[#Classification|31 species]]<ref name="Mayorella marianaensis"/>
|type_species = Mayorella bigemma
|type_species_authority = (Schaeffer 1918) Schaeffer 1926
}}

'''''Mayorella''''' is a [[genus (biology)|genus]] of small [[amoeboid]] [[protists]] in the phylum [[Amoebozoa]]. The genus consists of amoebae that exhibit [[pseudopodia]] and feed on a variety of organisms through [[phagocytosis]], making them an important group in [[microbial ecology]] across most environments worldwide. ''Mayorella'' species have been found in soil, freshwater and marine environments.<ref name="Mayorella marianaensis"/>

== Etymology ==
''Mayorella'' was named in the honor of [[Alfred G. Mayer|Alfred G. Mayor]], [[curator]] of [[natural sciences]] of the [[Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences]], the founder and first director of the Tortugas Marine Laboratory where the author of the genus, {{ill|Asa Arthur Schaeffer|de}}, was working at the time of the genus' description in 1926.<ref name="Glotova et al. 2018"/>

== Characteristics and ecology ==
''Mayorella'' amoebae use [[protoplasmic streaming]] for their movement and feeding. Like many other amoebae, they feed on [[bacteria]], [[fungi]] and [[algae]] through [[phagocytosis]]. Their feeding promotes nutrient regeneration for the habitats, and regulates the populations of algae and bacteria. For this reason they are an important functional group in the [[ecology]] of worldwide [[microbial communities]], for which they gain increasing recognition.<ref name="Mayorella marianaensis"/>

Most species of ''Mayorella'' have been isolated from soil or freshwater environments, while a few have been reported from marine habitats, two of them from deep-sea areas.<ref name="Mayorella marianaensis"/>

== Classification ==
=== Taxonomic history ===
In 1926 the zoologist {{ill|Asa Arthur Schaeffer|de}} established the order ''Mayorella'' in the [[monotypic]] [[family (biology)|family]] '''Mayorellidae'''.<ref name="Schaeffer 1926"/> The taxonomic history of the genus was complex. Many amoebae had similar morphology to ''Mayorella'' had either a thick, multi-layered cell coat (or [[cuticle]]), or scales on the surface of the [[cell membrane]]. The zoologist Frederick C. Page created the genus ''[[Hollandella]]'' to gather all ''Mayorella''-like species with cuticle, but the type species of this genus had scales instead of a cuticle, so the genus was abandoned. The species with scales were instead placed under the genus ''[[Dactylamoeba]]'', which was later formally replaced with the name ''[[Korotnevella]]''.<ref name="Glotova et al. 2018"/>

The diversity of ''Mayorella''-like amoebae is high, but the distinction between species of the genus is difficult and requires [[electron microscopy]] of the cell surface. Many species that were described by [[light microscopy]] are hardly recognizable and do not have reliable available descriptions.<ref name="Glotova et al. 2018"/>

In 2004 it was placed in the order [[Dermamoebida]], whose members are naked amoebae with a thick [[glycocalyx]].<ref name="CavSmith 2004"/>

=== Species ===
The genus ''Mayorella'' includes:
# ''[[Mayorella augusta]]'' {{au|Schaeffer 1926}}
# ''[[Mayorella bigemma]]'' {{au|(Schaeffer 1918) Schaeffer 1928}}<ref name="pmid17782085"/><br />= ''Amoeba bigemma'' {{au|Schaeffer 1918}}
# ''[[Mayorella cantabrigiensis]]'' {{au|Page 1983}}
# ''[[Mayorella dactylifera]]'' {{au|Goodkov & Buryakov 1988}}
# ''[[Mayorella gemmifera]]'' {{au|Schaeffer 1926}}<ref name="Dyková et al. 2008"/>
# ''[[Mayorella kuwaitensis]]'' {{au|Page 1981) Page 1982}}<br />= ''Hollandella kuwaitensis'' {{au|Page 1981}}
# ''[[Mayorella marianaensis]]'' {{au|Lei, Chen, Chen & Liang 2023}}<ref name="Mayorella marianaensis"/>
# ''[[Mayorella palestinensis]]'' {{au|K.Reich 1933}}<ref name="Proteolytic Mayorella palenstinensis"/>
# ''[[Mayorella penardi]]'' {{au|Page 1972}}
# ''[[Mayorella vespertilioides]]'' {{au|Page 1983}}
# ''[[Mayorella viridis]]'' {{au|Cann 1981}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="Schaeffer 1926">{{cite journal|author1=Asa Arthur Schaeffer|title=Taxonomy of the amebas: with descriptions of thirty-nine new marine and freshwater species|date=1926|publisher=Carnegie Institution of Washington|journal=Papers from the Department of Marine Biology of the Carnegie Institution of Washington}}</ref>

<ref name="Mayorella marianaensis">{{cite journal|author1=Xiaoli Lei|author2=Xiaojuan Chen|author3=Jianming Chen|author4=Chen Liang|title=A New Mayorella Species Isolated from the Mariana Trench Area (Pacific Ocean)|journal=Protist|volume=174|issue=3|date=June 2023|pages=125958|doi=10.1016/j.protis.2023.125958|pmid=37119544 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name="CavSmith 2004">{{cite journal|author1=Thomas Cavalier-Smith|author2=Ema E.-Y. Chao|author3=Brian Oates|title=Molecular phylogeny of Amoebozoa and the evolutionary significance of the unikont Phalansterium|journal=European Journal of Protistology|volume=40|issue=1|date=2004|pages=21–48|doi=10.1016/j.ejop.2003.10.001}}</ref>

<ref name="pmid17782085">{{cite journal |author=Asa Arthur Schaeffer|title=Nomenclatorial status of the amebas ''Mayorella bigemma'' and ''M.'' (?) ''dofleini'' |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=68 |issue=1767 |pages=454 |date=November 1928 |pmid=17782085 |doi=10.1126/science.68.1767.454-a |bibcode=1928Sci....68..454S }}</ref>

<ref name="Dyková et al. 2008">{{cite journal|author1=Iva Dyková|author2=Hana Pecková|author3=Martin Kostka|title=Introduction of Mayorella gemmifera Schaeffer, 1926 into phylogenetic studies of Amoebozoa|journal=Acta Protozoologica|volume=47|issue=3|date=2008|pages=205–210}}</ref>

<ref name="Proteolytic Mayorella palenstinensis">{{cite journal|vauthors=Edelstein S, Lichtenstein N, Lasman M|date=1968|title=Proteolytic Activity of the Amoeba Mayorella Palestinensis|journal=Israel Journal of Chemistry|volume=6|issue=5 |pages=797–802|doi=10.1002/ijch.196800097}}</ref>

<ref name="Glotova et al. 2018">{{cite journal|author1=Anna Glotova|author2=Natalya Bondarenko|author3=Alexey Smirnov|title=High Genetic Diversity of Amoebae Belonging to the Genus Mayorella (Amoebozoa, Discosea, Dermamoebida) in Natural Habitats|journal=Acta Protozoologica|volume=57|issue=1|date=2018}}</ref>

}}

{{Amoebozoa}}
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[[Category:Amoebozoa genera]]
[[Category:Discosea]]
[[Category:Taxa described in 1926]]