''Nosema'' is a genus of

microsporidia Microsporidia are a group of spore-forming unicellular parasites. These spores contain an extrusion apparatus that has a coiled polar tube ending in an anchoring disc at the apical part of the spore. They were once considered protozoans or pr ...

n parasites. The genus, circumscribed by Swiss botanist

Carl Nägeli Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli (26 or 27 March 1817 – 10 May 1891) was a Swiss botanist. He studied cell division and pollination but became known as the man who discouraged Gregor Mendel from further work on genetics. He rejected natural selection ...

in 1857, contains 81 species. Most parasitise insects and other

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chitin, o ...

s, and the best-known ''Nosema'' species parasitise honeybees, where they are considered a significant disease by beekeepers, often causing a colony to fail to thrive in the spring as they come out of their overwintering period. Eight species parasitize

digenea Digenea (Gr. ''Dis'' – double, ''Genos'' – race) is a class of trematodes in the Platyhelminthes phylum, consisting of parasitic flatworms (known as ''flukes'') with a syncytial tegument and, usually, two suckers, one ventral and one oral. ...

ns, a group of parasitic

flatworm The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, ''platy'', meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), ''helminth-'', meaning "worm") are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegment ...

s, and thus are

hyperparasite A hyperparasite, also known as a metaparasite, is a parasite whose host, often an insect, is also a parasite, often specifically a parasitoid. Hyperparasites are found mainly among the wasp-waisted Apocrita within the Hymenoptera, and in two ot ...

s, i.e., parasites of a parasite.Toguebaye, B. S., Quilichini, Y., Diagne, P. M. & Marchand, B. 2014: Ultrastructure and development of ''Nosema podocotyloidis'' n. sp. (Microsporidia), a hyperparasite of ''Podocotyloides magnatestis'' (Trematoda), a parasite of ''Parapristipoma octolineatum'' (Teleostei). Parasite, 21, 44.

Species

*'' Nosema algerae'' parasitising mosquitoes *'' Nosema antheraeae'' parasitising the Chinese oak silkworm ''

Antheraea pernyi ''Antheraea pernyi'', the Chinese (oak) tussar moth, Chinese tasar moth or temperate tussar moth, is a large moth in the family Saturniidae. The species was first described by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville in 1855. '' Antheraea roylei'' is a ...

'' *''

Nosema apis ''Nosema apis'' is a microsporidian, a small, unicellular parasite recently reclassified as a fungus that mainly affects honey bees. It causes nosemosis, also called nosema, which is the most common and widespread of adult honey bee diseases. T ...

'' parasitising

western honey bee The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for "bee", and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying" ...

s *'' Nosema birgii'' parasitising the chrysomelid beetle ''Mesoplatys cincta'' *'' Nosema bombi'' parasitising

bumble bee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera ...

s *''

Nosema bombycis Nosema bombycis is a species of Microsporidia of the genus '' Nosema'' infecting silkworms, responsible for pébrine. This species was the first microsporidium described, when pebrine decimated silkworms in farms in the mid-19th century. This des ...

'' causes '' pébrine'' in silkworms *'' Nosema carpocapsae'' parasitising '' Laspeyresia molesta'' (a tortricid moth) *''

Nosema ceranae ''Nosema ceranae'' is a microsporidian, a small, unicellular parasite that mainly affects ''Apis cerana'', the Asiatic honey bee. Along with '' Nosema apis'', it causes the disease nosemosis, the most widespread of the diseases of adult honey b ...

'' parasitising

honey bees A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmop ...

and

s *'' Nosema chaetocnemae'' parasitising the chrysomelid beetle ''Chaetocnema tibialis'' *'' Nosema chrysorrhoeae'' parasitising the browntail moth '' Euproctis chrysorrhoea'' (a lymantrid moth) *'' Nosema couilloudi'' parasitising chrysomelid beetles of genus ''Nisotra'' *'' Nosema empoascae'' parasitising the potato leaf-hopper '' Empoasca fabae'' (a cicadellid bug) *'' Nosema equestris'' parasitising the chrysomelid beetles '' Gastrophysa viridula'' and ''

Leptinotarsa decemlineata The Colorado potato beetle (''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''), also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is about long, with a bright yellow/o ...

'' *'' Nosema fumiferanae'' parasitising the eastern spruce budworm ''

Choristoneura fumiferana ''Choristoneura fumiferana'', the eastern spruce budworm, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae native to the eastern United States and Canada. The caterpillars feed on the needles of spruce and fir trees. Eastern spruce budworm popula ...

'' (a tortricid moth) *'' Nosema furnacalis'' parasitising the Asian corn-borer '' Ostrinia furnacalis'' (a pyralid moth) *'' Nosema galerucellae'' parasitising the chrysomelid beetle ''Galerucella luteola'' *'' Nosema gastroideae'' parasitising the chrysomelid beetle ''Gastrophysa polygoni'' *'' Nosema granulosis'' parasitising the crustacean ''Gammarus duebeni'' *'' Nosema kovacevici'' *'' Nosema leptinotarsae'' parasitising the

Colorado potato beetle The Colorado potato beetle (''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''), also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is about long, with a bright yellow/o ...

(''Leptinotarsa decemlineata'') *'' Nosema nisotrae'' parasitising chrysomelid beetles of genus ''Nisotra'' *'' Nosema oulemae'' parasitising the chrysomelid beetle '' Oulema melanopus'' *'' Nosema phyllotretae'' parasitising the chrysomelid beetles ''Phyllotreta atra'' and ''Phyllotreta undulata'' *'' Nosema polygrammae'' parasitising the chrysomelid beetle ''Polygramma undecimlineata'' *'' Nosema portugal'' parasitising the gypsy moth ''

Lymantria dispar ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' be ...

'' (a lymantrid moth) *'' Nosema pyrrhocoridis'' parasitising the red soldier bug ''

Pyrrhocoris apterus The firebug, ''Pyrrhocoris apterus'', is a common insect of the family Pyrrhocoridae. Easily recognizable due to its striking red and black coloration, it may be confused with the similarly coloured though unrelated '' Corizus hyoscyami'' (cin ...

'' (a pyrrhocorid bug) *'' Nosema pyrausta'' parasitising the European corn-borer ''

Ostrinia nubilalis The European corn borer (''Ostrinia nubilalis''), also known as the European corn worm or European high-flyer, is a moth of the family Crambidae which includes other grass moths. It is a pest of grain, particularly maize (''Zea mays''). The in ...

'' (a pyralid moth) *'' Nosema serbica'' parasitising the gypsy moth ''

'' (a lymantrid moth) *'' Nosema spodopterae'' parasitising the diamondback moth, '' Plutella xylostella'' (a plutellid moth) *'' Nosema trichoplusiae'' parasitising the cabbage looper/tiger moth '' Trichoplusia ni'' (a noctuid moth) *'' Nosema tyriae'' parasitising the cinnabar moth '' Tyria jacobaeae'' (an arctiid moth) *'' Nosema vespula'' parasitising European wasps '' Nosema locustae'', which parasitises locusts and grasshoppers, and ''Nosema grylli'', which parasitises crickets, have been transferred to ''Paranosema'', or in the former case ''Antonospora''. ''Nosema algerae'', which parasitises anopheline mosquitoes, has been transferred to ''Brachiola''. ''Nosema kingii'', which parasitises fruit flies, and ''Nosema acridophagus'', which parasitises grasshoppers, have been transferred to ''Tubilinosema''. Studies of DNA sequences imply that the boundaries between the genera ''Nosema'' and ''Vairimorpha'' are incorrectly drawn.

References

External links

''Nosema bombycis''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2708701 Microsporidia genera Parasites of arthropods