Identification of Chromera velia by fluorescence in situ hybridization

Chromera velia is evolutionarily the closest free-living and photosynthetic organism to the medically important obligatory parasitic apicomplexans that cause diseases including malaria and toxoplasmosis. In this study, a novel oligonucleotide probe targeting C.similar to velia's small subunit ribosomal RNA was designed. To enable usage of this probe as a detection tool, a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) protocol was optimized. The results obtained showed that when used in combination, the C.similar to velia CV1 probe and optimized FISH protocol enabled efficient detection of C.similar to velia in culture. This new technique will allow a better understanding of the ecological role of C.similar to velia within the coral microhabitat.