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The Apicomplexa are a large phylum of parasitic alveolates. Most of them possess a unique form of organelle that comprises a type of plastid called an apicoplast, and an apical complex structure. The organelle is an adaptation that the apicomplexan applies in penetration of a host cell.
Coccidia (Coccidiasina) are a subclass of microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled obligate intracellular parasites belonging to the apicomplexan class Conoidasida. As obligate intracellular parasites, they must live and reproduce within an animal cell. Coccidian parasites infect the intestinal tracts of animals, and are the largest group of apicomplexan protozoa.
Eimeria tenella is a species of Eimeria that causes hemorrhagic cecal coccidiosis in young poultry. It is found worldwide.
Eimeria is a genus of apicomplexan parasites that includes various species capable of causing the disease coccidiosis in animals such as cattle, poultry, dogs, cats, and smaller ruminants including sheep and goats. Eimeria species are considered to be monoxenous because the life cycle is completed within a single host, and stenoxenous because they tend to be host specific, although a number of exceptions have been identified. Species of this genus infect a wide variety of hosts. Thirty-one species are known to occur in bats (Chiroptera), two in turtles, and 130 named species infect fish. Two species infect seals. Five species infect llamas and alpacas: E. alpacae, E. ivitaensis, E. lamae, E. macusaniensis, and E. punonensis. A number of species infect rodents, including E. couesii, E. kinsellai, E. palustris, E. ojastii and E. oryzomysi. Others infect poultry, rabbits and cattle. For full species list, see below.
An apicoplast is a derived non-photosynthetic plastid found in most Apicomplexa, including Toxoplasma gondii, Plasmodium falciparum and other Plasmodium spp., but not in others such as Cryptosporidium. It originated from algae through secondary endosymbiosis. The apicoplast is surrounded by four membranes within the outermost part of the endomembrane system. The apicoplast hosts important metabolic pathways like fatty acid synthesis, isoprenoid precursor synthesis and parts of the heme biosynthetic pathway
Megaloschizonts are large schizonts that produce extremely high numbers of merozoites. They are found in various species of the Phylum Apicomplexa. The Apicomplexa phylum contains several parasitic protozoans. They have a very complex life cycle that includes several stages. Megaloschizonts and the smaller schizonts are the part of the life cycle that takes place inside the infected host organism and operates as an asexually reproductive cell. Megaloschizonts appear as grey-white nodules found in the smooth muscle of major organs, such as the heart, liver, lung or spleen.
Protozoan infections are parasitic diseases caused by organisms formerly classified in the Kingdom Protozoa. They are usually contracted by either an insect vector or by contact with an infected substance or surface and include organisms that are now classified in the supergroups Excavata, Amoebozoa, SAR, and Archaeplastida.
Eimeriorina is a suborder of phylum Apicomplexa.
Colpodella is a genus of alveolates comprising 5 species, and two further possible species: They share all the synapomorphies of apicomplexans, but are free-living, rather than parasitic. Many members of this genus were previously assigned to a different genus - Spiromonas.
Eimeriidae is a family of Apicomplexa. It contains the following genera:
Acroeimeria is a genus of parasites that contains those species which initially develop immediately beneath the brush-border of the intestinal epithelium, but the meronts and gamonts of which are early on extruded to form a layer on the surface of the gut mucosa. Morphologically they are similar to the Eimeria to which they are closely related. The genus was described in 1989 by Paperna and Landsberg.
Goussia is a taxonomic genus, first described in 1896 by Labbé, containing parasitic protists which largely target fish and amphibians as their hosts. Members of this genus are homoxenous and often reside in the gastrointestinal tract of the host, however others may be found in organs such as the gallbladder or liver. The genera Goussia, as current phylogenies indicate, is part of the class Conoidasida, which is a subset of the parasitic phylum Apicomplexa; features of this phylum, such as a distinct apical complex containing specialized secretory organelles, an apical polar ring, and a conoid are all present within Goussia, and assist in the mechanical invasion of host tissue. The name Goussia is derived from the French word gousse, meaning pod. This name is based on the bi-valve sporocyst morphology which some Goussians display. Of the original 8 classified Goussians, 6 fit the “pod” morphology. As of this writing, the genera consists of 59 individual species.
The genus Schellackia comprises obligate unicellular eukaryotic parasites within the phylum Apicomplexa, and infects numerous species of lizards and amphibians worldwide. Schellackia is transmitted via insect vectors, primarily mites and mosquitoes, which take up the parasite in blood meals. These vectors then subsequently infect reptilian and amphibian which consume the infected insects. The parasites deform erythrocytes of the host into crescents, and can be visualised using a blood smear.
Selenococcidium is a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. There is one recognised species in this genus - Selenococcidium intermedium. This species infects the intestinal tract of European lobsters.
Calyptospora is a genus of parasitic protozoa in the phylum Apicomplexa.
Echinococcidium is a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa.
Mattesia is a genus of parasitic alveolates of the phylum Apicomplexa. Species in this genus infect insects.
Meroselenidium is a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. Species in this genus infect marine invertebrates.
The parasitophorous vacuole (PV) is a structure produced by apicomplexan parasites in the cells of its host. The PV allows the parasite to develop while protected from the phagolysosomes of the host cell.
Nematopsis (Nee-mah-top-cis) is a genus gregarine Apicomplexan of the family Porosporidae. It is an aquatic parasite of crustaceans with a molluscan intermediate host. Nematopsis has been distinguished from the similar genus Porospora by its resistant and encapsulated oocyst. Little molecular biology has been performed on the members of the Nemaptosis and species are described based on molluscan and crustacean hosts as well as oocyst structure. A total of 38 species have been described and are found all over the world.
References
- ↑ Molnar K, Baska F (1986) Light and electron microscopic studies on Epieimeria anguillae (Léger & Hollande, 1922), a coccidium parasitizing the European eel, Anguilla anguilla L. J Fish Dis 9 (2) 99–110
- ↑ Hine PM (1975) Eimeria anguillae Leger & Hollande, 1922, parasitic in New Zealand eels. New Zealand J Mar & Freshwater Res 9: 239–243
- ↑ Landsberg JH, Paperna I (1987) Intestinal infections by Eimeria (s.l.) vanasi n. sp. (Eimeriidae, Apicomplexa, Protozoa) in cichlid fish. Ann Parasitol Hum Comp 62(4):283-293
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