Nosema apis is a microsporidian, a small, unicellular parasite recently reclassified as a fungus that mainly affects honey bees. It causes nosemosis, also called nosema, which is the most common and widespread disease of adult honey bee diseases. The dormant stage of N. apis is a long-lived spore which is resistant to temperature extremes and dehydration, and cannot be killed by freezing the contaminated comb. Nosemosis is a listed disease with the Office International des Epizooties (OIE).
Microsporidia are a group of spore-forming unicellular parasites. They were once considered protozoans or protists, but are now known to be fungi, or a sister group to fungi. Loosely 1500 of the probably more than one million species are named. Microsporidia are restricted to animal hosts, and all major groups of animals host microsporidia. Most infect insects, but they are also responsible for common diseases of crustaceans and fish. The named species of microsporidia usually infect one host species or a group of closely related taxa. Approximately 10 percent of the species are parasites of vertebrates —several species, most of which are opportunistic, can infect humans, in whom they can cause microsporidiosis.
Microsporidiosis is an opportunistic intestinal infection that causes diarrhea and wasting in immunocompromised individuals. It results from different species of microsporidia, a group of microbial (unicellular) fungi.
A xenoma is a growth caused by various protists and fungi, most notably microsporidia. It can occur on numerous organisms; however is predominantly found on fish.
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a species of the order Microsporidia which infects the intestinal epithelial cells. It is an obligate intracellular parasite.
Glugea is a genus of microsporidian parasites, predominantly infecting fish.
Encephalitozoon intestinalis is a parasite. It can cause microsporidiosis.
Crangonyx islandicus is a species of groundwater amphipods, endemic to Iceland, which was described in 2006. This species lives in freshwater beneath recent lava fields and is relatively widespread in the geologically youngest parts of Iceland. Morphological data, species distribution, genetic diversity and population structure suggest that this species survived repeated glaciation periods in Iceland in sub-glacial refugia. Considering that this species is most closely related genetically to Crangonyx species from North America, the ancestor of C. islandicus might have colonized Iceland via Greenland.
Nosema bombi is a microsporidian, a small, unicellular parasite recently reclassified as a fungus that mainly affects bumble bees. The parasite infects numerous Bombus spp. at variable rates, and has been found to have a range of deleterious effects on its hosts.
Huffmanela is a genus of parasitic nematodes, belonging to the family Trichosomoididae.
Spillover infection, also known as pathogen spillover and spillover event, occurs when a reservoir population with a high pathogen prevalence comes into contact with a novel host population. The pathogen is transmitted from the reservoir population and may or may not be transmitted within the host population.
The microsporidian Cucumispora dikerogammari is a parasitic fungal species that infects the invasive amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus. The first recorded evidence of Cucumispora dikerogammari was, as cited by Ovcharenko and Vita, in Germany, circa 1895, by Dr. L. Pfeiffer in the Dnieper Estuary. The Dnieper Estuary and lower parts of the Danube River are considered to be the parasite’s native range. As its host, D. villosus, began to invade novel habitats, C. dikerogammari followed, and has now expanded its range to be found in many of the main bodies of water in Central and Western Europe. At this time, only limited research has been conducted regarding the ecological implications of C. dikerogammari spreading beyond its native range. However, there is evidence to suggest that C. dikerogammari may cause imbalance to the male/female sex ratio of its host D. villosus.
Caenorhabditis elegans- microbe interactions are defined as any interaction that encompasses the association with microbes that temporarily or permanently live in or on the nematode C. elegans. The microbes can engage in a commensal, mutualistic or pathogenic interaction with the host. These include bacterial, viral, unicellular eukaryotic, and fungal interactions. In nature C. elegans harbours a variety of different microbes. In contrast, C. elegans strains that are cultivated in laboratories for research purposes have lost the natural associated microbial communities and are commonly maintained on a single bacterial strain, Escherichia coli OP50. However, E. coli OP50 does not allow for reverse genetic screens because RNAi libraries have only been generated in strain HT115. This limits the ability to study bacterial effects on host phenotypes. The host microbe interactions of C. elegans are closely studied because of their orthologs in humans. Therefore, the better we understand the host interactions of C. elegans the better we can understand the host interactions within the human body.
Pleistophora mulleri is a parasite of the amphipod Gammarus duebeni celticus. The parasite targets the freshwater shrimp species and has shown higher rates of cannibalism, which in turn, affects biological communities and ecology.
Ordospora colligata is an intracellular parasite belonging to the Microsporidia. It is an obligatory gut parasite with the crustacean Daphnia magna as its only host. So far it has been reported from Europe and Asia.
Hamiltosporidium is a genus of Microsporidia, which are intracellular and unicellular parasites. The genus, proposed by Haag et al. in 2010, contains two species; Hamiltosporidium tvaerminnensis, and Hamiltosporidium magnivora. Both species infect only the crustacean Daphnia magna (Waterflea).
Nematocida parisii, the nematode-killer from Paris, is a species of Microsporidia fungi. It is found in wild isolates of Caenorhabditis elegans. The species replicates in the intestines of C. elegans. After adhering to the intestinal wall the fungus begins its two stage life cycle before leaving the host.
Crangonyx floridanus is a species of amphipod. Crangonyx floridanus has a small head containing an anterior lobe, and medium-sized eyes. C. floridanus also contains two distinctive antennas, arranged in no particular order. One antenna is typically twice the size of the other, and contains an adornment flagellum. Its body is composed of a tightly packed interior and a smooth exterior, lined by coxal plates. Plates 1-4 are found rooted and lined with small hair-like bristles. These range in order from small or large
Enterospora nucleophila is a microsporidian infecting the gilt-head bream. It develops primarily within the nuclei of rodlet cells and enterocytes, at the intestinal epithelium. It can also be found in cytoplasmic position within other cell types, including phagocytes, at subepithelial layers. It is the causative agent of emaciative microsporidiosis of gilthead sea bream, a chronic condition manifested as a severe growth arrestment, normally accompanied by trickling mortality.
