Apicomplexa

Also known as sporozoan, sporozoa

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.

OverviewAI-generated

Apicomplexa is a subphylum within the phylum Myzozoa, commonly referred to as apicomplexans. The taxon holds an accepted status in biological classification. Organisms in this group inhabit marine, brackish, and freshwater environments.

Records of Apicomplexa have been documented in Peru, South Africa, Canada, Madagascar, and Malaysia. These records are held by institutions including MSB and QM. The subject is referenced by 1,186 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 14 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, PubMed, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

apicomplexans

Subphylum

PhylumMyzozoa

Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater

via

Museum specimens

Specimen records: 7,658
With media: 2
Collections: MSB, QM
Recorded in: Peru, South Africa, Canada, Madagascar, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Zambia

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Research

101,654 papers

Apicomplexa Cell Cycles: Something Old, Borrowed, Lost, and New.Trends in parasitology · 2018
Proteostasis is a key driver of the pathogenesis in Apicomplexa.Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular cell research · 2024
Genome evolution in intracellular parasites: Microsporidia and Apicomplexa.The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology · 2024
Mobilome of Apicomplexa Parasites.Genes · 2022
Why the -omic future of Apicomplexa should include gregarines.Biology of the cell · 2020

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~22 min read

Encyclopedic overview

18 sections

Contents

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 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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Apicomplexa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.