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Related Experiment Video

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Protocol for Production of a Genetic Cross of the Rodent Malaria Parasites

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Published on: January 3, 2011

Plasmodium structure of Intoshia linei (Orthonectida).

Elizaveta K Skalon¹, Viktor V Starunov¹, Natalya I Bondarenko¹

¹Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, St. Petersburg University, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Journal of Morphology

|June 14, 2023

Summary

Orthonectid parasites form a multinucleated plasmodium within hosts. Research reveals this plasmodium is an extracellular parasite, not an altered host cell, aiding understanding of parasitic bilaterian evolution.

Keywords:

immunohistochemistry morphology orthonectid plasmodium parasitism transmission electron microscopy

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Area of Science:

Parasitology
Evolutionary Biology
Cell Biology

Background:

Orthonectids are enigmatic parasitic bilaterians with an uncertain phylogenetic position.
The parasitic stage, known as the plasmodium, is underexplored, with no consensus on its origin.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine the origin of the orthonectid parasitic stage.
To investigate the fine structure of the Intoshia linei orthonectid plasmodium.

Main Methods:

Detailed fine structure analysis of the Intoshia linei plasmodium.
Utilized a variety of morphological methods.

Main Results:

The orthonectid plasmodium is a multinucleated organism enclosed by a double membrane envelope, existing extracellularly.
It contains typical bilaterian organelles, reproductive cells, and developing sexual specimens.
The plasmodium forms protrusions for mature individual egress from the host.

Conclusions:

The orthonectid plasmodium is an extracellular parasite, likely formed by spreading larval cells and subsequent cell-within-cell complex generation.
The term "plasmodium" should be avoided; "orthonectid plasmodium" is a temporary alternative.