Sexual Development in Non-Human Parasitic Apicomplexa: Just Biology or Targets for Control?
The phylum Apicomplexa is a major group of protozoan parasites including gregarines, coccidia, haemogregarines, haemosporidia and piroplasms, with more than 6000 named species. Three of these subgroups, the coccidia, hemosporidia, and piroplasms, contain parasites that cause important diseases of hu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2891 |
| _version_ | 1797515535623127040 |
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| author | Teresa Cruz-Bustos Anna Sophia Feix Bärbel Ruttkowski Anja Joachim |
| author_facet | Teresa Cruz-Bustos Anna Sophia Feix Bärbel Ruttkowski Anja Joachim |
| author_sort | Teresa Cruz-Bustos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The phylum Apicomplexa is a major group of protozoan parasites including gregarines, coccidia, haemogregarines, haemosporidia and piroplasms, with more than 6000 named species. Three of these subgroups, the coccidia, hemosporidia, and piroplasms, contain parasites that cause important diseases of humans and animals worldwide. All of them have complex life cycles involving a switch between asexual and sexual reproduction, which is key to their development. Fertilization (i.e., fusion of female and male cells) results in the formation of a zygote that undergoes meiosis, forming a new generation of asexual stages. In eukaryotes, sexual reproduction is the predominant mode of recombination and segregation of DNA. Sex is well documented in many protist groups, and together with meiosis, is frequently linked with transmission to new hosts. Apicomplexan sexual stages constitute a bottleneck in the life cycle of these parasites, as they are obligatory for the development of new transmissible stages. Consequently, the sexual stages represent attractive targets for vaccination. Detailed understanding of apicomplexan sexual biology will pave the way for the design and implementation of effective transmission-blocking strategies for parasite control. This article reviews the current knowledge on the sexual development of Apicomplexa and the progress in transmission-blocking vaccines for their control, their advantages and limitations and outstanding questions for the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:46:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ea285f5c8b084522ad7d4257c10701ba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:46:47Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-ea285f5c8b084522ad7d4257c10701ba2023-11-22T17:10:48ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-10-011110289110.3390/ani11102891Sexual Development in Non-Human Parasitic Apicomplexa: Just Biology or Targets for Control?Teresa Cruz-Bustos0Anna Sophia Feix1Bärbel Ruttkowski2Anja Joachim3Institute for Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, AustriaInstitute for Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, AustriaInstitute for Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, AustriaInstitute for Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, AustriaThe phylum Apicomplexa is a major group of protozoan parasites including gregarines, coccidia, haemogregarines, haemosporidia and piroplasms, with more than 6000 named species. Three of these subgroups, the coccidia, hemosporidia, and piroplasms, contain parasites that cause important diseases of humans and animals worldwide. All of them have complex life cycles involving a switch between asexual and sexual reproduction, which is key to their development. Fertilization (i.e., fusion of female and male cells) results in the formation of a zygote that undergoes meiosis, forming a new generation of asexual stages. In eukaryotes, sexual reproduction is the predominant mode of recombination and segregation of DNA. Sex is well documented in many protist groups, and together with meiosis, is frequently linked with transmission to new hosts. Apicomplexan sexual stages constitute a bottleneck in the life cycle of these parasites, as they are obligatory for the development of new transmissible stages. Consequently, the sexual stages represent attractive targets for vaccination. Detailed understanding of apicomplexan sexual biology will pave the way for the design and implementation of effective transmission-blocking strategies for parasite control. This article reviews the current knowledge on the sexual development of Apicomplexa and the progress in transmission-blocking vaccines for their control, their advantages and limitations and outstanding questions for the future.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2891apicomplexasexual reproductionsexual stagestransmission blocking strategiesvaccination targets<i>Cystoisospora suis</i> |
| spellingShingle | Teresa Cruz-Bustos Anna Sophia Feix Bärbel Ruttkowski Anja Joachim Sexual Development in Non-Human Parasitic Apicomplexa: Just Biology or Targets for Control? Animals apicomplexa sexual reproduction sexual stages transmission blocking strategies vaccination targets <i>Cystoisospora suis</i> |
| title | Sexual Development in Non-Human Parasitic Apicomplexa: Just Biology or Targets for Control? |
| title_full | Sexual Development in Non-Human Parasitic Apicomplexa: Just Biology or Targets for Control? |
| title_fullStr | Sexual Development in Non-Human Parasitic Apicomplexa: Just Biology or Targets for Control? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sexual Development in Non-Human Parasitic Apicomplexa: Just Biology or Targets for Control? |
| title_short | Sexual Development in Non-Human Parasitic Apicomplexa: Just Biology or Targets for Control? |
| title_sort | sexual development in non human parasitic apicomplexa just biology or targets for control |
| topic | apicomplexa sexual reproduction sexual stages transmission blocking strategies vaccination targets <i>Cystoisospora suis</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2891 |
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