Apicomplexa
Sign in to saveThe Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia; single: apicomplexan) are organisms of a large phylum of mainly parasitic alveolates. Most possess a unique form of organelle structure that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplastwith an apical complex membrane. The organelle's apical shape is an adaptation that the apicomplexan applies in penetrating a host cell.
Article
18 sectionsContents
- Description
- Life cycle
- Subgroups
- Gregarines
- Coccidians
- Haemosporidia
- Marosporida
- Ecology and distribution
- Blood-borne genera
- Taxonomy
- History
- Jacques Euzéby (1988)
- Roberts and Janovy (1996)
- Perkins (2000)
- Evolution
- See also
- References
- External links
The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia; single: apicomplexan) are organisms of a large phylum of mainly parasitic alveolates. Most possess a unique form of organelle structure that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplastwith an apical complex membrane. The organelle's apical shape is an adaptation that the apicomplexan applies in penetrating a host cell.
The Apicomplexa are unicellular and spore-forming. Most are obligate endoparasites of animals, except Nephromyces, a symbiont in marine animals, originally classified as a chytrid fungus, and the Chromerida, some of which are photosynthetic partners of corals. Motile structures such as flagella or pseudopods are present only in certain gamete stages.