Nucleophaga is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of eukaryotic

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

s that are internal parasites of amoeba,

flagellate A flagellate is a cell or organism with one or more whip-like appendages called flagella. The word ''flagellate'' also describes a particular construction (or level of organization) characteristic of many prokaryotes and eukaryotes and their ...

s, and

ciliate The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...

Morphology and life cycle

''Nucleophaga'' grows within the

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 Nucle ...

of its host cell. Its

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

s are ingested by the host and migrate to the nucleus. Once in the nucleus, the spores germinate giving rise to naked plasmodia in contact with the host's karyoplasm. It develops

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 ...

-like projections that may be involved in osmotrophy or phagocytosis. The ''Nucleophaga'' cells continue to enlarge until a cell wall replaces the projections and the ''Nucleophaga'' cytoplasm is divided into spores.

Taxonomy

Described by Dangeard in 1895, ''Nucleophaga'' was placed in

Olpidiaceae Olpidiaceae is a fungal plant pathogen family of genera, that was placed in the order Olpidiales. Taxonomy Based on the work of Philippe Silar and "The Mycota: A Comprehensive Treatise on Fungi as Experimental Systems for Basic and Applied Resear ...

Chytridiales Fungi of the order Chytridiales, like other members of its division, may either have a monocentric thallus or a polycentric rhizomycelium. When the ribosomal genes of members classified in this order were first examined using molecular techniqu ...

. Molecular

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

studies have placed some members in the Cryptomycota/

Rozellomycota Cryptomycota ('hidden fungi'), Rozellida, or Rozellomycota are a clade of micro-organisms that are either fungi or a sister group to fungi. They differ from classical fungi in that they lack chitinous cell walls at any trophic stage in their lif ...

Species

As according to a taxonomic summary. * ''

Nucleophaga amoebae Nucleophaga is a genus of eukaryotic microorganisms that are internal parasites of amoeba, flagellates, and ciliates. Morphology and life cycle ''Nucleophaga'' grows within the nucleus of its host cell. Its spores are ingested by the host an ...

'' Dangeard 1895 * ''

Nucleophaga hypertrophica Nucleophaga is a genus of eukaryotic microorganisms that are internal parasites of amoeba, flagellates, and ciliates. Morphology and life cycle ''Nucleophaga'' grows within the nucleus of its host cell. Its spores are ingested by the host an ...

'' Epstein 1922 * ''

Nucleophaga intestinalis Nucleophaga is a genus of eukaryotic microorganisms that are internal parasites of amoeba, flagellates, and ciliates. Morphology and life cycle ''Nucleophaga'' grows within the nucleus of its host cell. Its spores are ingested by the host an ...

'' Brug 1926 * ''

Nucleophaga peranemae Nucleophaga is a genus of eukaryotic microorganisms that are internal parasites of amoeba, flagellates, and ciliates. Morphology and life cycle ''Nucleophaga'' grows within the nucleus of its host cell. Its spores are ingested by the host an ...

'' Hollande & Balsac 1941 * ''

Nucleophaga ranarum Nucleophaga is a genus of eukaryotic microorganisms that are internal parasites of amoeba, flagellates, and ciliates. Morphology and life cycle ''Nucleophaga'' grows within the nucleus of its host cell. Its spores are ingested by the host an ...

'' Lavier 1935 * ''

Nucleophaga terricolae Nucleophaga is a genus of eukaryotic microorganisms that are internal parasitism, parasites of amoeba, flagellates, and ciliates. Morphology and life cycle ''Nucleophaga'' grows within the Cell nucleus, nucleus of its host cell. Its spores are ...

'' Corsaro et al. 2006

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10604028 Eukaryote genera Holomycota