''Balantidium'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

ciliate The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...

s. It contains the parasitic species ''

Balantidium coli ''Balantidium coli'' is a parasitic species of ciliate Alveolata, alveolates that causes the disease balantidiasis. It is the only member of the ciliate phylum known to be pathogenic to humans, although the main reservoir for this species are ma ...

'', the only known cause of

balantidiasis Balantidiasis is a protozoan infection caused by infection with ''Balantidium coli''. History The first study to generate balantidiasis in humans was undertaken by Cassagrandi and Barnagallo in 1896. However, this experiment was not successful in ...

History

The first-described species of ''Balantidium'', ''B. entozoon'', was described in 1838 by Ehrenberg as a member of the genus ''

Bursaria ''Bursaria'' is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae and is endemic to Australia. They are shrubs or slender trees, often with spiny branches and have Leaf#Divisions of the blade, simple leaves, relatively s ...

''. ''Balantidium coli'' observed in patients with

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

was originally described as ''Paramecium coli'' by Malmstein in 1857. In 1858, Edouard Claparède and Johannes Lachmann created the genus ''Balantidium'' and reclassified ''B. entozoon'' as its type species. Stein in 1863, reclassified ''Paramecium coli'' into the genus ''Balantidium''.

Transcriptomics

Transcriptome The transcriptome is the set of all RNA transcripts, including coding and non-coding, in an individual or a population of cells. The term can also sometimes be used to refer to all RNAs, or just mRNA, depending on the particular experiment. The ...

data for ''Balantidium ctenopharyngodoni'', from single-cell transcriptome sequencing, were published in 2017 and were the first

omics Omics is the collective characterization and quantification of entire sets of biological molecules and the investigation of how they translate into the structure, function, and dynamics of an organism or group of organisms. The branches of scien ...

data within the subclass Trichostomatia.

Taxonomy

A separate genus – '' Neobalantidium'' – has been created for several of these species. ''Balantidium coli'' is one of the species that has been reclassified. It has also been proposed that it is a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of genus '' Balantioides–''which has ''B. coli'' as the type species. The closest known relative of this genus is '' Buxtonella sulcata'', a parasite of cattle.

Species

There are 72 species in the genus.

References

{{Authority control Ciliate genera Litostomatea