Anopheles is a genus of mosquito first described by J. W. Meigen in 1818. Its members are sometimes called nail mosquitoes or marsh mosquitoes. Many are vectors of the Plasmodium parasite of malaria in birds, reptiles, and mammals including humans. Anopheles gambiae is among the best known, as it transmits one of the most dangerous human malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum. No other mosquito genus is a vector of human malaria.
Microsporidia are a group of spore-forming unicellular parasites. These spores contain an extrusion apparatus that has a coiled polar tube ending in an anchoring disc at the apical part of the spore. They were once considered protozoans or protists, but are now known to be fungi, or a sister group to fungi. These fungal microbes are obligate eukaryotic parasites that use a unique mechanism to infect host cells. They have recently been discovered in a 2017 Cornell study to infect Coleoptera on a large scale. So far, about 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.
A hyperparasite, also known as a metaparasite, is a parasite whose host, often an insect, is also a parasite, often specifically a parasitoid. Hyperparasites are found mainly among the wasp-waisted Apocrita within the Hymenoptera, and in two other insect orders, the Diptera and Coleoptera (beetles). Seventeen families in Hymenoptera and a few species of Diptera and Coleoptera are hyperparasitic. Hyperparasitism developed from primary parasitism, which evolved in the Jurassic period in the Hymenoptera. Hyperparasitism intrigues entomologists because of its multidisciplinary relationship to evolution, ecology, behavior, biological control, taxonomy, and mathematical models.
Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae is a myxozoan parasite of salmonid fish. It is the only species currently recognized in the monotypic genus Tetracapsuloides. It is the cause of proliferative kidney disease (PKD), one of the most serious parasitic diseases of salmonid populations in Europe and North America that can result in losses of up to 90% in infected populations.
Kudoa thyrsites is a myxosporean parasite of marine fishes. It has a worldwide distribution, and infects a wide range of host species. This parasite is responsible for causing economic losses to the fisheries sector, by causing post-mortem "myoliquefaction", a softening of the flesh to such an extent that the fish becomes unmarketable. It is not infective to humans.
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 Chytridiopsida which infects the intestinal epithelial cells. It is an obligate intracellular parasite.
The spatulasnout catshark, also known as the Borneo catshark or flatnose catshark, is a catshark of the family Scyliorhinidae, found in the western Pacific between 35°N and 1° N. Its length is up to 80 cm.
Glugea is a genus of microsporidian parasites, predominantly infecting fish.
Encephalitozoon intestinalis is a parasite. It can cause microsporidiosis.
Like humans and other animals, fish suffer from diseases and parasites. Fish defences against disease are specific and non-specific. Non-specific defences include skin and scales, as well as the mucus layer secreted by the epidermis that traps microorganisms and inhibits their growth. If pathogens breach these defences, fish can develop inflammatory responses that increase the flow of blood to infected areas and deliver white blood cells that attempt to destroy the pathogens.
A large proportion of living species on Earth live a parasitic way of life. Parasites have traditionally been seen as targets of eradication efforts, and they have often been overlooked in conservation efforts. In the case of parasites living in the wild – and thus harmless to humans and domesticated animals – this view is changing. The conservation biology of parasites is an emerging and interdisciplinary field that recognizes the integral role parasites play in ecosystems. Parasites are intricately woven into the fabric of ecological communities, with diverse species occupying a range of ecological niches and displaying complex relationships with their hosts.
Cyclospora is a genus of apicomplexan parasites. It includes the species Cyclospora cayetanensis, the causative agent of cyclosporiasis. Members of Cyclospora are characterized as having oocysts with two sporocysts, each containing two sporozoites.
Loma morhua, also known as Loma branchialis, is a species of microsporidian parasite, infecting fish. It forms xenoparasitic complexes of the cell-hypertrophy tumour type, and is found in the gills of the Atlantic cod Gadus morhua. It is apansporoblastic, unikaryotic, disporoblastic and undergoes partial development in parasitophorous vacuoles, while lacking plasmodial stages. It produces one or two spores in a vacuole, having tubules in the parasitophorous vacuoles.
The Broadnose worm eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Charles Marcus Breder Jr. in 1927. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean, including Bermuda, the Bahamas, Cuba, Lesser Antilles, Belize, and Brazil. It is known to dwell at a depth of 186 metres, and inhabits protected or semi-protected bays and tidal creeks. Males can reach a maximum total length of 21 centimetres (8.3 in).
Loma salmonae is a species of microsporidian parasite, infecting Pacific salmon. L. salmonae is the causative agent of microsporidial gill disease of salmon. It is an intracellular parasite which induces respiratory distress, secondary infection, and increased mortality rates.
Nematocida parisii is a parasitic species of Microsporidia fungi found in wild isolates of the common nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. The fungus forms spores and replicates in the intestines before leaving the host.
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.
Carlos José Correia de Azevedo is a Portuguese biologist specialising in microparasites of aquatic organisms, particularly Apicomplexa, Haplosporidia, Microsporidia, and Myxozoa.
