Trypanosomatida is a group of kinetoplastid unicellular organisms distinguished by having only a single flagellum. The name is derived from the Greek trypano (borer) and soma (body) because of the corkscrew-like motion of some trypanosomatid species. All members are exclusively parasitic, found primarily in insects. A few genera have life-cycles involving a secondary host, which may be a vertebrate, invertebrate or plant. These include several species that cause major diseases in humans. Some trypanosomatida are intracellular parasites, with the important exception of Trypanosoma brucei.
Trypanosoma is a genus of kinetoplastids, a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. Trypanosoma is part of the phylum Euglenozoa. The name is derived from the Greek trypano- (borer) and soma (body) because of their corkscrew-like motion. Most trypanosomes are heteroxenous and most are transmitted via a vector. The majority of species are transmitted by blood-feeding invertebrates, but there are different mechanisms among the varying species. Trypanosoma equiperdum is spread between horses and other equine species by sexual contact. They are generally found in the intestine of their invertebrate host, but normally occupy the bloodstream or an intracellular environment in the vertebrate host.
Crithidia is a genus of trypanosomatid Euglenozoa. They are parasites that exclusively parasitise arthropods, mainly insects. They pass from host to host as cysts in infective faeces and typically, the parasites develop in the digestive tracts of insects and interact with the intestinal epithelium using their flagellum. They display very low host-specificity and a single parasite can infect a large range of invertebrate hosts. At different points in its life-cycle, it passes through amastigote, promastigote, and epimastigote phases; the last is particularly characteristic, and similar stages in other trypanosomes are often called crithidial.
Paleoleishmania is an extinct genus of kinetoplastids, a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. At present it is placed in the family Trypanosomatidae. The genus contains two species, the type species Paleoleishmania proterus and the later described Paleoleishmania neotropicum.
Perkinsids are single-celled protists that live as intracellular parasites of a variety of other organisms. They are classified as the class Perkinsea within the monotypic phylum Perkinsozoa. It is part of the eukaryotic supergroup Alveolata, along with dinoflagellates, their closest relatives, and another parasitic group known as Apicomplexa. Perkinsids are found in aquatic environments, as parasites of dinoflagellates and various animals.
Parvilucifera is a genus of marine alveolates that behave as endoparasites of dinoflagellates. It was described in 1999 by biologists Fredrik Norén and Øjvind Moestrup, who identified the genus among collections of Dinophysis dinoflagellates off the coast of Sweden. Initially mistaken for products of sexual reproduction, the round bodies found within these collections were eventually recognized as sporangia, spherical structures that generate zoospores of a parasitic protist. This organism was later identified as P. infectans, the type species. The examination of this organism and its close genetic relationship to Perkinsus led to the creation of the Perkinsozoa phylum within the Alveolata group.
Angomonas deanei is a flagellated trypanosomatid protozoan. As an obligate parasite, it infects the gastrointestinal tract of insects, and is in turn a host to symbiotic bacteria. The bacterial endosymbiont Ca. "Kinetoplastibacterium crithidii" maintains a permanent mutualistic relationship with the protozoan such that it is no longer able to reproduce and survive on its own. The symbiosis, subsequently also discovered in varying degrees in other protists such as Strigomonas culicis, Novymonas esmeraldas, Diplonema japonicumand Diplonema aggregatum are considered as good models for the understanding of the evolution of eukaryotes from prokaryotes, and on the origin of cell organelles.
Phytomonas is a genus of trypanosomatids that infect plant species. Initially described using existing genera in the family Trypanosomatidae, such as Trypanosoma or Leishmania, the nomenclature of Phytomonas was proposed in 1909 in light of their distinct hosts and morphology. When the term was originally coined, no strict criterion was followed, and the term was adopted by the scientific community to describe flagellate protozoa in plants as a matter of convenience. Members of the taxon are globally distributed and have been discovered in members of over 24 plant families. Of these 24, the two main families that are infected by Phytomonas are Euphorbiaceae and Asclepiadiacae. These protists have been found in hosts between 50° latitude North and South, and thus they can be found on all continents save for Antarctica.
Crithidia pragensis is a species of monoxenous trypanosomatid. It is known to parasitise Brachycera flies, and was first found in the Czech Republic.
Leptomonas moramango is a species of monoxenous trypanosomatid. It is known to parasitise Brachycera flies, and was first found in Madagascar.
Crithidia otongatchiensis is a species of monoxenous trypanosomatid. It is known to parasitise Brachycera flies, and was first found in Ecuador.
Wallaceina raviniae is a species of monoxenous trypanosomatid. It is known to parasitise Brachycera flies, and was first found in Ecuador.
Jaenimonas is a genus of trypanosomatid parasite that infects mushroom-feeding Drosophila, similar to Crithidia parasites of Bumblebees. Jaenimonas drosophilae is the sole representative of this genus. The genus is named in honor of John Jaenike, a prominent ecologist and evolutionary biologist whose work on mushroom-feeding flies laid the foundation for studies on mycophagous Drosophila. Jaenike was also an early proponent of the Red Queen hypothesis.
Blastocrithidia is a genus of parasitic flagellate protist belonging to the family Trypanosomatidae. It is a monoxenous parasite of heteropteran insects, mainly inhabiting their hindgut and glands.
Leptomonas is a genus of parasitic flagellate protist belonging to family Trypanosomatidae and subfamily Leishmaniinae sensu Maslov & Lukeš 2012. It is a monoxenous parasite of mainly Hemiptera, Diptera, and Siphonaptera insects.
Strigomonas culicis is a protist and member of flagellated trypanosomatids. It is an obligate parasite in the gastrointestinal tract of mosquito, and is in turn a host to symbiotic bacteria. It maintains strict mutualistic relationship with the bacteria as a sort of cell organelle (endosymbiont) so that it cannot lead an independent life without the bacteria. Along with Angomonas deanei, S. culicis is researched as model organism for the evolution of symbiotic relationsships with intracellular bacteria.
Novymonas esmeraldas is a protist and member of flagellated trypanosomatids. It is an obligate parasite in the gastrointestinal tract of a bug, and is in turn a host to symbiotic bacteria. It maintains strict mutualistic relationship with the bacteria as a sort of cell organelle (endosymbiont) so that it cannot lead an independent life without the bacteria. Its discovery in 2016 suggests that it is a good model in the evolution of prokaryotes into eukaryotes by symbiogenesis. The endosymbiotic bacterium was identified as member of the genus Pandoraea.
Strigomonadinae is a subfamily of protists in the order Trypanosomatida. All species in this taxon harbor endodymbiontic bacteria of the Candidatus Kinetoplastibacterium genus.
Spirocuta is a clade of euglenids, single-celled eukaryotes or protists belonging to the phylum Euglenozoa. They are distinguished from other euglenids by active deformation of their cell shape, a process called euglenid motion or metaboly. This is made possible by a high number of spirally arranged protein strips that run below their cell membrane and confer the cell with flexibility. These strips compose the helicoidal pellicle, a trait referenced by the alternative name Helicales.
Neometanema is a genus of phagotrophic flagellates belonging to the Euglenida, a diverse group of flagellates in the phylum Euglenozoa. It is the sole genus within the monotypic family Neometanemidae and suborder Metanemina. It composes the order Natomonadida together with a closely related clade of osmotrophs known as Aphagea.
