Phylogeny, classification and diversity of Choreotrichia and Oligotrichia (Ciliophora, Spirotrichea).

Ciliated protists in the subclasses Choreotrichia and Oligotrichia are major components of marine plankton. Despite their ecological relevance, there are uncertainties in their systematics and diversity. We retrieved and curated all the GenBank ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences from these groups, which were analyzed in two ways.