Urospora (alveolate)

Urospora
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Clade:	Sar
Clade:	Alveolata
Phylum:	Apicomplexa
Class:	Conoidasida
Order:	Eugregarinorida
Family:	Urosporidae
Genus:	Urospora Schneider, 1895
Synonyms [1]
CystobiaMingazzini, 1891 in part PachysomaMingazzini, 1891SyncystisCuénot, 1891

Urospora is a genus of apicomplexan gregarines. ^{[2] [3] [1]}

Characteristics

Urospora is a genus of apicomplexans, protists that behave as intracellular parasites. Species of this genus are monocystid gregarines, found in the body cavity or tissues of their hosts: echinoderms, annelids, nemertines and mollusks. They present lateral or frontal syzygies. Their oocysts are heteropolar, with a thin appendage at one end and a transparent conical funnel at the other end. ^[2] They reproduce through anisogametes, unequal gametes, liberated through the dehiscence of gametocysts by a simple rupture. The oocysts have a well-differentiated wall known as the 'epispore', 8 sporozoites. Each oocyst has an anterior neck and a marked posterior prolongation. ^[1]

Species and hosts

Urospora contains the following species, listed next to their host and the tissue they parasitize: ^[1]

• U. chiridotae (Dogiel 1906 as Cystobia ) Goodrich 1925 – blood vessels of sea cucumber Chiridota laevis .
• U. echinocardii Pixell-Goodrich 1915 – coelom of sea urchins Echinocardium and Spatangus .
• U. grassei (Changeux 1961 as Cystobia) Levine 1977 – hemal sinus of sea cucumbers Holothuria tubulosa and H. stellati .
• U. hardyi Goodrich 1950 – coelom of sipunculid worm Sipunculus nudus .
• U. holothuriae (Schneider 1858 as Gregarina ) Trégouboff 1918 – blood vessels, coelom and intestine of sea cucumbers Holothuria tubulosa and H. stellati .
• U. intestinalis Bogolepova 1953 – intestine of sea cucumber Cucumaria japonica .
• U. lagidis de St. Joseph 1898 – coelom of polychaete Lagis koreni .
• U. legeri Goodrich 1950 – coelom of sipunculid worm Sipunculus nudus .
• U. longicauda Mingazzini 1891 – unknown location within polychaete Cirratulus filigerus .
• U. longissima (Caullery & Mesnil 1898 as Gonospora ) Schrével 1965 – coelom of polychaete Dodecaria caulleryi .
• U. muelleri (Cuénot 1891 as Syncystis ) Cuénot 1892 – coelom of sea cucumber Synapta digitata .
• U. nemertis (von Kölliker 1845 as Gregarina ) Schneider 1875 – intestine of ribbon worm Nemertes delineatus .
• U. neopolitana Pixell-Goodrich 1915 – coelom of sea urchin Echinocardium cordatum .
• U. ovalis Dogiel 1910 – coelom of sea urchin Echinocardium cordatum ^[1] and polychaete Travisia forbesii . ^[2]
• U. pulmonalis Bogolepova 1953 – gills of sea cucumber Cucumaria japonica .
• U. rhyacodrili Gabriel 1929 – seminal vesicles and coelom of oligochaetes Rhyacodrilus coccineus and Tubifex albicola .
• U. schneideri (Mingazzini 1891 as Cystobia) Levine 1977 – blood vessels and coelom of sea cucumbers Holothuria polii , H. impatiens , H. tubulosa and H. stellati .
• U. sipunculi (von Kölliker 1845 as Gregarina) Léger 1892 – coelom of sipunculid worm Sipunculus nudus .
• U. synaptae (Cuénot 1891 as Syncystis) Léger 1892 – coelom of sea cucumbers Synapta digitata , Leptosynapta inhaerens and L. galliennei .
• U. travisiae Dogiel 1910 – coelom of polychaete Travisia forbesi .
• U. tubificis Hesse 1909 – seminal vesicles and coelom of oligochaete Tubifex tubifex .

References

1. Levine ND (1977). "Checklist of the species of the aseptate Gregarine family Urosporidae". International Journal for Parasitology. 7 (2): 101–108. doi:10.1016/0020-7519(77)90074-1.
2. Diakin A, Paskerova GG, Simdyanov TG, Aleoshin VV, Valigurová A (2016). "Morphology and Molecular Phylogeny of Coelomic Gregarines (Apicomplexa) with Different Types of Motility: Urospora ovalis and U. travisiae from the Polychaete Travisia forbesii". Protist. 167 (3): 279–301. doi:10.1016/j.protis.2016.05.001.
3. Simdyanov TG, Guillou L, Diakin AY, Mikhailov KV, Schrével J, Aleoshin VV (2017). "A new view on the morphology and phylogeny of eugregarines suggested by the evidence from the gregarine Ancora sagittata (Leuckart, 1860) Labbé, 1899 (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida)". PeerJ. 5 e3354. doi: 10.7717/peerj.3354 . PMC   5452951 .