Fig. 9

Connecting the mitochondrial organelles to the flagellum may be an ancestral strategy of controlling the mitochondrial inheritance in Metamonada. The schematic tree of eukaryotic supergroups drawn according to [63] shows the position of Metamonada and within recently questioned Excavata supergroup. Bellow, a subtree of selected Metamonada species according to [64, 65]—the parasitic lineages are shown in red. Highlighted is the presence of the microtubular fiber or analogous structures (*) T. foetus [66], H. teleskopos [67], A. paluster [68], O. intestinalis [69], and S. muris [70]. Note the secondary absence of mitochondrial organelle in Monocercomonoides sp. (#)