The Plasmodiidae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

apicomplexa The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia) are a large phylum of parasitic alveolates. Most of them possess a unique form of organelle that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplast, and an apical complex structure. Th ...

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

s, including the type

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 ...

'', which is responsible for

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. This family was erected in 1903 by Mesnil and is one of the four families in the order Haemospororida.

Diagnostic criteria

The diagnostic criteria of the Plasmodiidae are: * Macrogametes and microgamonts develop independently *

Meiosis 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 r ...

is absent * Microgametocyte produces eight flagellated microgametes *

Zygote A zygote (, ) is a eukaryotic cell formed by a fertilization event between two gametes. The zygote's genome is a combination of the DNA in each gamete, and contains all of the genetic information of a new individual organism. In multicell ...

is motile (known as an

ookinete 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 i ...

) *

Conoid In geometry a conoid () is a ruled surface, whose rulings (lines) fulfill the additional conditions: :(1) All rulings are parallel to a plane, the '' directrix plane''. :(2) All rulings intersect a fixed line, the ''axis''. The conoid is a ri ...

present in ookinete stage only *

Sporozoites 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 ...

naked in oocyst (that is without a sporocyst) * Sporozoites have three walls *

Heteroxenous Heteroxeny, or heteroxenous development, characterizes a parasite whose development involves several host species. Heteroxeny has been used as the basis for splitting genera. When there are two or three hosts, the development cycle is named d ...

merogony 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 i ...

and gamogony occur in

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, with c ...

host, and fertilization and

sporogony 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 i ...

in definitive host (a blood-sucking

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 ...

) * Hemozoin pigment is produced

Taxonomy

The family Plasmodiidae has three sister taxa in the order Haemospororida: the families Garniidae, Haemoproteidae, and Leucocytozoidae. The Haemoproteidae and the Plasmodiidae both produce pigment, and these have been placed in the suborder Laveraniina. Neither the Haemoproteidae nor the Leucocytozoidae have an asexual cycle in the peripheral blood. The Garniidae do not produce pigment, but do have an asexual cycle in the blood. They appear to be the earliest diverging clade in this group. The Plasmodiidae contain these genera: * Genus '' Bioccala'' Landau ''et al'' 1984 * Genus '' Biguetiella'' Landau ''et al'' 1984 * Genus '' Billbraya'' Paperna & Landau 1990 * Genus '' Dionisia'' Landau ''et al'' 1980 * Genus '' Hepatocystis'' Miller 1908 * Genus '' Mesnilium'' Misra, Haldar & Chakravarty 1972 * Genus '' Nycteria'' Garnham and Heisch 1953 * Genus ''

'' Marchiafava & Celli 1885 ** Subgenus '' Asiamoeba'' Telford 1988 ** Subgenus ''

Bennettinia ''Plasmodium juxtanucleare'' is a species of parasite in the family Plasmodiidae. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are birds. Description This species was first described in 1941 by Versiani and Gomes.Versiani, V. & Gomes, B. F. 1941 Sobre ...

'' Valkiūnas 1997 ** Subgenus '' Carinamoeba'' Garnham 1966 ** Subgenus '' Giovannolaia'' Corradetti, Garnham & Laird 1963 ** Subgenus '' Haemamoeba'' Grassi & Feletti 1890 ** Subgenus ''

Huffia Huffia is a subgenus of the genus ''Plasmodium'' - all of which are parasites. The subgenus was created in 1963 by Corradetti ''et al.''. Species in this subgenus infect bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting t ...

'' Garnham & Laird 1963 ** Subgenus '' Lacertaemoba'' Telford 1988 ** Subgenus ''

Laverania ''Laverania'' is a subgenus of the parasite genus ''Plasmodium''. Infection with these species results in malaria. The subgenus was first described in 1958. The name was first proposed by Welch in 1897 as a genus name for the group now known as ...

'' Bray 1963 ** Subgenus '' Novyella'' Corradetti, Garnham & Laird 1963 ** Subgenus '' Ophidiella'' Garnham 1966 ** Subgenus ''

Paraplasmodium ''Paraplasmodium'' is a subgenus of the genus ''Plasmodium'' - all of which are parasitic eukaryotes. The subgenus was created by Telford in 1988. Species in this subgenus infect lizards. Species *''Plasmodium chiricahuae'' *''Plasmodium mexic ...

'' Telford 1988 ** Subgenus ''

'' Bray 1963 emend. Garnham 1964 ** Subgenus '' Sauramoeba'' Garnham 1966 ** Subgenus '' Vinckeia'' Garnham 1964 * Genus '' Polychromophilus'' Landau ''et al'' 1984 * Genus '' Rayella'' Dasgupta 1967 * Genus '' Saurocytozoon'' Lainson & Shaw 1969 * Genus †''

Vetufebrus ''Vetufebrus'' is an extinct genus of haemospororida in the family Plasmodiidae. At the time of its description the new genus comprised a single species ''Vetufebrus ovatus'' known from a single Miocene Dominican amber fossil found on Hispa ...

'' Poinar 2011 The genus ''Mesnilium'' is the only taxon that infects fish. The genus has a single species and has been reported only once. This genus may have been mistakenly placed in this genus. DNA studies are likely to be needed to clarify this point.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1929486 Apicomplexa families Haemosporida