''Novyella'' is a subgenus of the

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 ...

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 ...

'' - all of which are parasites. The subgenus was created in 1963 by Corradetti ''et al.''

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in this

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

infect

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. It unites the avian malaria parasites with small erythrocytic meronts and elongated

gametocyte 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 T ...

Taxonomy

This subgenus was created on the basis of morphology. Subsequent DNA studies showed it to be polyphetic. Its definition has been revised by Landau ''et al'' to contain only those species with a white/blue globule in the cytoplasm. Several of the species that were included in this subgenus have now been moved to a new subgenus '' Papernaia''.

Species

The type species is '' Plasmodium vaughani''.

Description

Species in the subgenus ''Novyella'' have the following characteristics: * Mature

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 ...

s are either smaller than or only slightly larger than the host nucleus. They contain scanty

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 ...

. * Gametocytes are elongated. Sexual stages in this subgenus resemble those of '' Haemoproteus''. * Exoerythrocytic schizogony occurs in the mononuclear

phagocyte Phagocytes are cells that protect the body by ingesting harmful foreign particles, bacteria, and dead or dying cells. Their name comes from the Greek ', "to eat" or "devour", and "-cyte", the suffix in biology denoting "cell", from the Greek ...

system * A blue, pale blue or white globule, frequently refractory, can be found in the cytoplasm.

References

Plasmodium subgenera Parasites of birds {{Plasmodium-stub