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"The project grew out of the realisation that U-ExM is going to be a game-changer for protistology and marine microbiology," said Dey.

Shung Jong, 83, an American Type Culture Collection scientist who had served as the not-for-profit organization’s director of mycology, botany and protistology as well as global regulatory affairs specialist, died May 17 at his home in Bristow, Va. The cause was prostate cancer, said a daughter, Victoria Jong.

The findings were published in the European Journal of Protistology.

“Not a new species. Not a new genus. A new class—the first in half a century. Well, it didn’t make headlines on CNN, but in the world of protistology that is as stunning as it gets.”

"We started to think that mitochondria were essential even if they don't produce energy but because of this essential function," said Vladimir Hampl, a professor of protistology at Charles University who oversaw the study.