''Cyclospora'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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. Th ...

n parasites. It includes the species '' Cyclospora cayetanensis'', the causative agent of

cyclosporiasis Cyclosporiasis is a disease caused by infection with ''Cyclospora cayetanensis'', a pathogenic protozoan transmitted by feces or feces-contaminated food and water. Outbreaks have been reported due to contaminated fruits and vegetables. It is not ...

.Kansas State University - Parasitology - Cyclospora cayetanensis
/ref> Members of ''Cyclospora'' are characterized as having

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 is ...

s with two sporocysts, each containing two

sporozoite 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 is ...

Species

Several ''Cyclospora'' species have been described in various mammals including: *'' Cyclospora angimurinensis'' (from the

Hispid pocket mouse The hispid pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus hispidus'') is a large pocket mouse native to the Great Plains region of North America. It is a member of the genus ''Chaetodipus''. Distribution The hispid pocket mouse occurs across the Great Plains fro ...

) *'' Cyclospora ashtabulensis'' (from the

Hairy-tailed mole The hairy-tailed mole (''Parascalops breweri''), also known as Brewer's mole, is a medium-sized North American mole. It is the only member of the genus ''Parascalops''. The species epithet ''breweri'' refers to Thomas Mayo Brewer, an American na ...

) *'' Cyclospora caryolytica'' (from various insect-eating mammals) *'' Cyclospora cayetanensis'' (from humans) *'' Cyclospora cercopitheci'' (from

African green monkey ''Chlorocebus'' is a genus of medium-sized primates from the family of Old World monkeys. Six species are currently recognized, although some people classify them all as a single species with numerous subspecies. Either way, they make up the ...

s) *'' Cyclospora colobi'' (from the

Colobus monkey Black-and-white colobuses (or colobi) are Old World monkeys of the genus ''Colobus'', native to Africa. They are closely related to the red colobus monkeys of genus '' Piliocolobus''. There are five species of this monkey, and at least eight subs ...

) *'' Cyclospora megacephali'' (from the

Eastern mole The Eastern Mole or Common Mole (''Scalopus aquaticus'') is a medium-sized North American mole. It is the only member of genus ''Scalopus''. It is found in forested and open areas with moist sandy soils in northern Mexico, the eastern Unite ...

) *'' Cyclospora papionis'' (from the

Olive baboon The olive baboon (''Papio anubis''), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae Old World monkeys. The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being native to 25 countries throughout Africa, extending fr ...

) *'' Cyclospora parascalopi'' (from the Hairy-tailed mole) *'' Cyclospora talpae'' (from the European mole) A smaller number of species have been described from reptiles, arthropods, and snakes: *'' Cyclospora glomericola'' (from a millipede of the genus ''

Glomeris ''Glomeris'' is largely European genus of pill millipedes. It contains over 100 species, distributed across Europe, but also extending into the Canary Islands, Turkey, and eleven species from North Africa. Species * '' Glomeris albida'' * '' ...

'') *'' Cyclopsora niniae'' (from the snake '' Ninia sebae'') *'' Cyclospora scinci'' (from '' Scincus officinalis'') *'' Cyclospora viperae'' (from ''

Vipera aspis ''Vipera aspis'' is a viper species found in southwestern Europe. Its common names include asp, asp viper,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Krieger Publishing Company, Mala ...

'') *'' Cyclopsora zamensis'' (from various snakes)

Taxonomy and evolution

''Cyclospora'' are

eukaryote Eukaryotes () are organisms whose cells have a nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the three domains of life. Bacter ...

s in the phylum

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. Th ...

. Within the Apicomplexa, ''Cyclospora'' belong to the sub-class

Coccidia Coccidia (Coccidiasina) are a subclass of microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled obligate intracellular parasites belonging to the apicomplexan class Conoidasida. As obligate intracellular parasites, they must live and reproduce within an a ...

and family

Eimeriidae Eimeriidae is a family of Apicomplexa. It contains the following genera: *'' Acroeimeria'' Paperna & Landsberg, 1989 *'' Alveocystis'' Bel'tenev, 1980 *'' Caryospora'' Léger, 1904 *'' Cyclospora'' Schneider, 1881 *''Diaspora'' Léger, 1898 *'' D ...

. Taxonomy of the coccidia is based upon morphological descriptions of observed parasites, and therefore does not always reflect evolutionary relationships. Genetic studies of the well-conserved

SSU rRNA Small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid (SSU rRNA) is the smaller of the two major RNA components of the ribosome. Associated with a number of ribosomal proteins, the SSU rRNA forms the small subunit of the ribosome. It is encoded by SSU- rDNA. ...

from various specimens has suggested that parasites in ''Cyclospora'' may be more closely related to some species of ''

Eimeria ''Eimeria'' is a genus of apicomplexan parasites that includes various species capable of causing the disease coccidiosis in animals such as cattle, poultry and smaller ruminants including sheep and goats. ''Eimeria'' species are considered to be ...

'' that infect birds than the rest of the genus ''Eimeria'' is. Relationships among various coccidia estimated for SSU rRNA sequences are shown in the

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...

below:

History

The genus ''Cyclospora'' was created in 1881 to describe a parasite found in a millipede of the genus ''

''.

References

Apicomplexa genera Conoidasida {{Apicomplexa-stub