Which two features of phylum Apicomplexan generally share?
Other features common to this phylum are a lack of cilia, sexual reproduction, use of micropores for feeding, and the production of oocysts containing sporozoites as the infective form.
What ecological role do all apicomplexans engage in?
All apicomplexans have present at some stage in their life cycle a single type of plastid-like organelle called an apicoplast. The function of this apical organelle complex is to penetrate a host cell. In addition, piroplasms possess all species that are two-host parasites infecting ticks and vertebrates.
What eukaryotic microbes are in the Apicomplexa phylum?
The Apicomplexa are a phylum of diverse obligate intracellular parasites including Plasmodium spp., the cause of malaria; Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium parvum, opportunistic pathogens of immunocompromised individuals; and Eimeria spp.
What is the function of the apical complex in apicomplexans?
The apical complex is the definitive cell structure of phylum Apicomplexa, and is the focus of the events of host cell penetration and the establishment of intracellular parasitism.
Why are Apicomplexa such successful parasites?
Apicomplexans are obligatory parasites, fully dependent on their hosts throughout most of their life cycle. As highly sophisticated parasites, apicomplexans benefit from their prolonged and close association with the host, which they exploit for food, habitat, and dispersal in order to increase their fitness.
Are all protozoa obligate parasites?
The fifth Phylum of the Protist Kingdom, known as Apicomplexa, gathers several species of obligate intracellular protozoan parasites classified as Sporozoa or Sporozoans, because they form reproductive cells known as spores. Many sporozoans are parasitic and pathogenic species, such as Plasmodium (P.
Where are apicomplexans found?
body cavities
Apicomplexans live within the body cavities or the cells of almost every kind of animal, including other apicomplexans.
Are apicomplexans heterotrophic or autotrophic?
The Apicomplexa (Telosporea, Sporozoa) are parasitic. 1 heterotrophic protists that form uniformly banana-shaped uninucleate stages. Apicomplexans move by gliding motion, and at least one stage is characterized by apical secretory organelles releasing their content through a microtubule-anchored ring.
What are the distinguishing characteristics of the members of phylum Apicomplexa?
Members of the phylum Apicomplexa have a complex life cycle that is characterized by three major processes that include merogony, sporogony, and gametogony. For most species, this cycle alternates between sexual and asexual stages in one or different hosts depending on the organism.
What are the distinguishing characteristics of the embers of phylum Apicomplexa?
It consists of members of the family Babesiidae and Theileriidae and has the following characteristics: Do not possess conoid in their apical complex. Reproduce asexually through multiple fission. Do not have specialized structures for locomotion.
What is the phylum of Sporozoans?
Sporozoa (phylum Protozoa) A subphylum of protozoa in which the life cycle includes a spore-forming or cyst-forming stage. Asexual reproduction occurs by multiple fission. All members are parasitic, parasitizing hosts throughout the animal kingdom.