''Plasmodium polare'' 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 Hematophagy, blood-feeding insect host (biology), host which then inj ...
'' subgenus ''
Papernaia''.
Like all ''Plasmodium'' species ''P. polare'' has both
vertebrate
Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain.
The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...
and
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s.
Description
The parasite was first described by Manwell in 1934.
[Manwell (1934) The Anatomical Record 60(4): 1 - 101]
It is relatively small and produces on the average nine
merozoites per infection. It has abundant
cytoplasm
The cytoplasm describes all the material within a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, including the organelles and excluding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. The material inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell a ...
.
Geographical occurrence
This parasite occurs in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Clinical features and host pathology
Hosts of this species include the bald eagle (''
Haliaeetus leucocephalus''),
the barn swallow (''
Hirundo rustica''), yellow wagtails (''
Motacilla flava'')
[Valkiunas G, Iezhova TA. (2001) A comparison of the blood parasites in three subspecies of the yellow wagtail ''Motacilla flava''. J. Parasitol. 87(4):930-934.] and American cliff swallows (''
Petrochelidon pyrrhonota'').
Related species
It is related to the following species:
''
Plasmodium asanum''
''
Plasmodium circumflexum''
''
Plasmodium durae''
''
Plasmodium fallax''
''
Plasmodium formosanum''
''
Plasmodium gabaldoni''
''
Plasmodium hegneri''
''
Plasmodium lophrae''
''
Plasmodium lophrae''
''
Plasmodium pediocetti''
''
Plasmodium pinotti''
References
Further reading
polare
Parasites of birds
Parasites of insects
Apicomplexa species
Protists described in 1934
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