''Plasmodium lemuris'' is a parasite 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 vert ...

'' subgenus ''

Vinckeia ''Vinckeia'' is a subgenus of the genus ''Plasmodium'' — all of which are parasitic alveolates. The subgenus ''Vinckeia'' was created by Cyril Garnham in 1964 to accommodate the mammalian parasites other than those infecting the primates. Di ...

''. Like all ''Plasmodium'' species ''P. lemuris'' has both

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Huff and Hoogstraal in 1963 in the black lemur ''Lemur collaris''.Huff C.G.,Hoogstraal H. J. (1963) ''Plasmodium lemuris'' N. Sp., from ''Lemur collaris'' E. Geoffroy. J. Infect Dis. 112:233-236 This species may belong to the genus ''

Haemoproteus ''Haemoproteus'' is a genus of alveolates that are parasitic in birds, reptiles and amphibians. Its name is derived from Greek: ''Haima'', "blood", and ''Proteus'', a sea god who had the power of assuming different shapes. The name ''Haemoproteu ...

'' rather than to ''

''. Clarification of this point awaits examination of the organism's DNA.

Distribution

This species is found in Madagascar.

Hosts

The known hosts include the

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 exist ...

s '' Lemur macaco macaco'' and ''

Lemur collaris Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagasc ...

''. The infected

erythrocyte 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 ...

is enlarged (+/- 10 micrometres) and distorted in shape and in many instances is almost completely filled by the parasite. Young

trophozoite A trophozoite (G. ''trope'', nourishment + ''zoon'', animal) is the activated, feeding stage in the life cycle of certain protozoa such as malaria-causing ''Plasmodium falciparum'' and those of the '' Giardia'' group. (The complement of the trophozo ...

s are small and occupy three-tenths to four-tenths of the erythrocytes. The nucleus stains rose-red. Larger trophozoites are more irregular tending toward amoeboidity. Pigment is in granules and there is no stippling of the host cell. The

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 display irregularly shaped nuclei. The pigment is brown and clumped into a diffused mass. The

gametocytes A gametocyte is a eukaryotic germ cell that divides by mitosis into other gametocytes or by meiosis into gametids during gametogenesis. Male gametocytes are called ''spermatocytes'', and female gametocytes are called ''oocytes''. Development ...

are very large (11×7 micrometres) and irregular in shape. Their nuclei are band-like or lobed irregularly. The macrogametocytes have lavender to purple cytoplasm. The pigment is made up of small dark brown granules within vacuoles. The microgametocytes have red-staining nuclei and slate-gray cytoplasm. Their pigment is similar to that of the macrogametocytes.

References

lemuris {{plasmodium-stub