''Epieimeria'' is a genus of

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

alveaolates 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 ...

. The genus was created in 1981 by Dyková and Lom. Species in this genus were earlier classified as ''

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 ...

''.

Taxonomy

Species in this genus infect

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

Description

Like other eimerians, the species in this genus undergo intracellular

merogony 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 ...

and

gametogony 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 ...

.Molnar K, Baska F (1986) Light and electron microscopic studies on ''Epieimeria anguillae'' (Léger & Hollande, 1922), a coccidium parasitizing the European eel, ''Anguilla anguilla'' L. J Fish Dis 9 (2) 99–110 Trophozoites and both the merogonic and gametogonic stages develop in a

parasitophorous vacuole The parasitophorous vacuole (PV) is a structure produced by apicomplexan parasites in the cells of its host. The PV allows the parasite to develop while protected from the phagolysosomes of the host cell. The PV is a bubble-like compartment mad ...

which lies half embedded in the

epithelial Epithelium or epithelial tissue is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. It is a thin, continuous, protective layer of compactly packed cells with a little intercellula ...

cell and protrudes into the intestinal lumen. The parasitophorous vacuole itself is surrounded by a single membrane but towards the

intestinal lumen The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans ...

it is also covered by the cell membrane.

Sporogony 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 ...

takes place outside the fish or intercellularly. The wall of the sporocyst opens at its apex through a round pore. Oocysts as well as being excreted may infiltrate into the mucosa and thence into the viscera and internal cavities where they may accumulate there and sporulate within the host.Hine PM (1975) ''Eimeria anguillae'' Leger & Hollande, 1922, parasitic in New Zealand eels. New Zealand J Mar & Freshwater Res 9: 239–243 These will be liberated only after the death of the host. A Stieda body is present.Landsberg JH, Paperna I (1987) Intestinal infections by ''Eimeria'' (s.l.) ''vanasi n. sp.'' (Eimeriidae, Apicomplexa, Protozoa) in cichlid fish. Ann Parasitol Hum Comp 62(4):283-293

References

Apicomplexa genera Parasites of fish {{Apicomplexa-stub