''Nephridiophaga'' is a genus of single cell

eukaryotes 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. Bacte ...

, now considered to be fungi, that pathogenically inhabit the

Malpighian tubules The Malpighian tubule system is a type of excretory and osmoregulatory system found in some insects, myriapods, arachnids and tardigrades. The system consists of branching tubules extending from the alimentary canal that absorbs solutes, water, ...

of insects. Ivanic described the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

species from honey bees.

Morphology and life cycle

''Nephridiophaga'' spores are small, flattened ovals that resemble a red blood cell. Each spore contains a single nucleus and may have an inconspicuous, central opening. Spores are ingested by insects. Once inside the host, spores germinate, though whether in the gut or elsewhere is not known.

Plasmodia ''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 verteb ...

inhabit and feed on Malpighian tubule cells where they are in direct contact with the cytoplasm. Multi-nucleate plasmodia are eventually released into the lumen, some attach to the brush border of the tubule cells using

pseudopodia A pseudopod or pseudopodium (plural: pseudopods or pseudopodia) is a temporary arm-like projection of a eukaryotic cell membrane that is emerged in the direction of movement. Filled with cytoplasm, pseudopodia primarily consist of actin filament ...

that interdigitate with the

microvilli Microvilli (singular: microvillus) are microscopic cellular membrane protrusions that increase the surface area for diffusion and minimize any increase in volume, and are involved in a wide variety of functions, including absorption, secretion, ...

of the cells. Other plasmodia form merozoite-like cells. Plasmodia released into the lumen for
sporoblasts
internally with a spore wall enclosing each nucleus. Sporoblasts can be asexual or sexual. Asexual sporoblasts are formed from a type of closed

mitosis In cell biology, mitosis () is a part of the cell cycle in which replicated chromosomes are separated into two new nuclei. Cell division by mitosis gives rise to genetically identical cells in which the total number of chromosomes is mainta ...

with chromosomes un-condensed and spindle poles remaining un-connected to the nuclear envelope, which is a common form of mitosis for fungi. Sexual sporoblasts are formed after the fusion of

meiotic Meiosis (; , since it is a reductional division) is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, such as sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately res ...

nuclei; however, the details of meiosis and fusion are not known, and the phenomenon is doubted by some authors. Spores are excreted from the insect in its

feces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

Taxonomy

''Nephridiophaga'' was originally placed in the protist order Haplosporidia, though not all researchers agreed, with some placing it in the Microsporidia, and others leaving it unclassified. Molecular phylogenetic studies of species infecting cockroaches have shown that the genus belongs in or close to the

Chytrid Chytridiomycota are a division of zoosporic organisms in the kingdom Fungi, informally known as chytrids. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased zoöspores. Chytrid ...

division of the kingdom Fungi.

Species

Based on * '' Nephridiophaga apis'' Ivanić 1937 * '' Nephridiophaga archimandrita'' Radek, Wellmanns & Wolf 2011 * '' Nephridiophaga blaberi'' Radek & Storch 2000 * '' Nephridiophaga blatellae'' (Crawley 1905) Woolever 1966 * '' Nephridiophaga forficulae'' (Léger 1909) Ormières & Manier 1973 * '' Nephridiophaga lucihormetica'' Radek, Wellmanns & Wolf 2011 * '' Nephridiophaga maderae'' Radek et al. 2017 * '' Nephridiophaga meloidorum'' (Purrini & Rohde 1988) Lange 1993 * '' Nephridiophaga ormieresi'' Toguebaye et al. 1986 * '' Nephridiophaga periplanetae'' (Lutz & Splendore 1903) Lange 1933 * ''

Nephridiophaga schalleri ''Nephridiophaga'' is a genus of single cell eukaryotes, now considered to be fungi, that pathogenically inhabit the Malpighian tubules of insects. Ivanic described the type species from honey bees. Morphology and life cycle ''Nephridiophaga' ...

'' (Pumni & Rohde 1988) Lange 1993 * '' Nephridiophaga tangae'' (Purrini, Weiser & Kohring 1988) Lange 1993 * '' Nephridiophaga xenoboli'' Ganapati & Narasimhamurti 1960

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25365866 Chytridiomycota Chytridiomycota genera