''Chagasella'' is a genus of parasitic alveolates of 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 ...

. Species in this genus infect insects of the order

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

and of the family

Termitoidae Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...

Taxonomy

Two species are recognised in this genus.

Description

The species in this genus are parasitic in

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s. These parasite appear to be spread via the orofaecal route and infect the gastrointestinal tract and salivary glands of the insect host. They form ovoid

oocyst Apicomplexans, a group of intracellular parasites, have life cycle stages that allow them to survive the wide variety of environments they are exposed to during their complex life cycle. Each stage in the life cycle of an apicomplexan organism i ...

s in the gut wall. There are three sporocysts per oocyte and 4-6 (possibly more) sporozoites per sporocyst. The merozoites are

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

shaped. The spores are not confined by an oocyst membrane. Gibbs in 1944 showed that after the first division of the zygote nucleus in the oocyst, only one of the two daughter nuclei divides.Gibbs AJ (1944) ''Chagasella'' sp. (Protozoa, Coccidia) found in the salivary glands of ''Cenaeus carnifex'' Fabr. (Insecta, Hemiptera). S. African J. Med. Set. (Biol. Sup pi.) 9, 55-62 This differential division, by analogy with '' Adelina deronis'', may indicate maleness for the nucleus that divided and femaleness for the one that does not.

Host records

* ''

Amitermes ''Amitermes'' is a genus of termites in the family Termitidae. It is the second largest genus after '' Microcerotermes'' in the subfamily Amitermitinae with around one hundred species. Species are found in a range of habitats including deserts a ...

'' species * '' Cenaeus carnifex''

References

Apicomplexa genera {{Apicomplexa-stub