''Aggregata'' is a genus of parasitic alveolates belonging to the
phylum
In biology, a phylum (; plural: phyla) is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclature f ...
Apicomplexa
The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia) are a large phylum of parasitic alveolates. Most of them possess a unique form of organelle that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplast, and an apical complex structure. T ...
.
Taxonomy
The organism found in the octopus was first named as ''Benedenia octopiana'' by Schneider in 1875. Since ''Benedenia'' was preoccupied, ''Eucoccidium'' was proposed as a replacement name by Lühe in 1903.
The genus ''Aggregata'' was named by Frenzel in 1885 for parasites in a crustacean.
These were later shown as two stages in the lifecycle of an identical organism by Léger and Duboscq.
This genus appears to be related to the adelinids and ''
Hepatozoon
''Hepatozoon'' is a genus of Apicomplexa alveolates which incorporates over 300 species obligate intraerythrocytic parasites. Species have been described from all groups of tetrapod vertebrates, as well as a wide range of haematophagous arthropod ...
'' but this needs confirmation.
[Kopecná J, Jirků M, Oborník M, Tokarev YS, Lukes J, Modrý D (2006) Phylogenetic analysis of coccidian parasites from invertebrates: search for missing links. Protist 157(2):173-183]
Life cycle
The life cycle was determined in 1914. These parasites are
heteroxenous
Heteroxeny, or heteroxenous development, characterizes a parasite whose development involves several host species. Heteroxeny has been used as the basis for splitting genera.
When there are two or three hosts, the development cycle is named d ...
, with two hosts in their life cycle. Sexual stages are found in the digestive tract of
cephalopod
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head ...
s and asexual stages infect the digestive tract of
crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
s.
The parasites undergo merogony and gametogony in the digestive tract and sometimes in the other tissues of the cephalopod. The oocysts may be passed in the stool or form within the tissues of the cephalopod. When the oocysts are ingested by a crustacean - frequently a crab - they decyst and infect the digestive tract of the crustacean. The life cycle is completed when the crustacean is eaten by a cephalopod.
Host records
*''Aggregata andresi'' - ommastrephid squid (''
Martialia hyadesi'')
[Gestal C, Nigmatullin Ch M, Hochberg FG, Guerra A and Pascual S (2005) ''Aggregata andresi'' n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Aggregatidae) from the ommastrephid squid ''Martialia hyadesi'' in the SW Atlantic Ocean and some general remarks on ''Aggregata'' spp. in cephalopod hosts. System Parasitol 60(1) 65-73 ]
*''Aggregata bathytherma'' - ''
Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis''
[Gestal C, Pascual S, Hochberg FG (2010) ''Aggregata bathytherma'' sp. nov. (Apicomplexa: Aggregatidae), a new coccidian parasite associated with a deep-sea hydrothermal vent octopus. Inter-Research 91(3) 237-242]
*''Aggregata dobelli'' - Giant Pacific octopus (''
Octopus dofleini martini'')
[Poynton SL, Reimschuessel R, Stoskopf MK (1992) ''Aggregata dobelli'' n. sp. and ''Aggregata millerorum'' n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Aggregatidae) from two species of octopus (Mollusca: Octopodidae) from the Eastern North Pacific Ocean. J Euk Micro 39(1) 248–256 ]
*''Aggregata eberthi'' - common cuttlefish (''
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