Plasmodium pifanoi
Encyclopedia
Plasmodium pifanoi is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium
subgenus Paraplasmodium
.
Like all Plasmodium species P. pifanoi has both vertebrate
and insect
hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are lizard
s.
The asexual stages are irregular in shape and do not have a vacuole.
Schizonts measure 6.2 × 4.5 micrometres (range: 4 – 8 × 3 – 6) and produce on average 11.9 (range: 7 – 16) merozoites.
Gametocytes average 12.4 × 6.0 micrometres (range: 8 – 16 × 4 – 10). The average length × width product is 72.9 (range: 52 – 112) and the average length / width ratio is 2.18 (range: 1.1 – 3.3). The gametocytes always contain 1 – 5 prominent vacuole
s.
Macrogametocytes during active infection are longer than microgametocytes with a greater length-width product. Gametocytes in chronic infection are slightly smaller and are not sexually dimorphic in their dimensions.
Plasmodium
Plasmodium is a genus of parasitic protists. Infection by these organisms is known as malaria. The genus Plasmodium was described in 1885 by Ettore Marchiafava and Angelo Celli. Currently over 200 species of this genus are recognized and new species continue to be described.Of the over 200 known...
subgenus Paraplasmodium
Paraplasmodium
Paraplasmodium is a subgenus of the genus Plasmodium - all of which are parastic protozoa. The subgenus was created by Telford in 1988. Species in this subgenus infect lizards.- Diagnostic features :...
.
Like all Plasmodium species P. pifanoi has both vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s.
Description
This species was first described by Scorza and Dagert in 1956. It was redescribed in 2003 by Telford.The asexual stages are irregular in shape and do not have a vacuole.
Schizonts measure 6.2 × 4.5 micrometres (range: 4 – 8 × 3 – 6) and produce on average 11.9 (range: 7 – 16) merozoites.
Gametocytes average 12.4 × 6.0 micrometres (range: 8 – 16 × 4 – 10). The average length × width product is 72.9 (range: 52 – 112) and the average length / width ratio is 2.18 (range: 1.1 – 3.3). The gametocytes always contain 1 – 5 prominent vacuole
Vacuole
A vacuole is a membrane-bound organelle which is present in all plant and fungal cells and some protist, animal and bacterial cells. Vacuoles are essentially enclosed compartments which are filled with water containing inorganic and organic molecules including enzymes in solution, though in certain...
s.
Macrogametocytes during active infection are longer than microgametocytes with a greater length-width product. Gametocytes in chronic infection are slightly smaller and are not sexually dimorphic in their dimensions.