''Giovanolaia'' is a subgenus of the genus ''

Plasmodium ''Plasmodium'' is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of ''Plasmodium'' species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a ver ...

'' created by Corradetti ''et al.'' in 1963. The parasites within this subgenus infect birds. This subgenus was shown on the basis of DNA analysis to be

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

. This is unsurprising – it has been a

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

. A revision of this subgenus on a morphological basis by Landau ''et al.'' moved several of the species in this subgenus into a new subgenus '' Papernaia''.

Description

Species in the subgenus ''Giovanolaia'' have the following characteristics:

Schizont 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 contain plentiful cytoplasm, are larger than the host cell

nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom * Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucl ...

and frequently displace it. They are found only in mature

erythrocytes Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "holl ...

. Gametocytes are elongated. Both gametocytes and schizonts are stretched along the red cell nucleus. Exoerythrocytic schizogony occurs in the mononuclear phagocyte system.

Species in this subgenus

References

Plasmodium subgenera Parasites of birds {{Plasmodium-stub