''Plasmodium ashfordi'' is a

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), ...

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 ...

'' subgenus '' Papernaia''. Like all species in this genus it 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 host 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 ...

Description

This species was first described in 2007 by Valkiunas ''et al.''Valkiunas G, Zehtindjiev P, Hellgren O, Ilieva M, Iezhova TA, Bensch S. (2007) Linkage between mitochondrial cytochrome b lineages and morphospecies of two avian malaria parasites, with a description of ''Plasmodium (Novyella) ashfordi'' sp. nov. Parasitol Res. The parasite infects

erythrocytes Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (, with -''cyte'' translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cel ...

Geographical location

This species is found in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and probably in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Clinical features and pathological effects

The organism was isolated from great reed warblers (''

Acrocephalus arundinaceus The great reed warbler (''Acrocephalus arundinaceus'') is an insectivorous bird in the family Acrocephalidae. It is a medium-sized passerine bird and the largest of the European warblers. It breeds throughout mainland Europe and the Western Palea ...

''). Videvall ''et al.'', 2015 study the course of

gene transcription Transcription is the process of copying a segment of DNA into RNA for the purpose of gene expression. Some segments of DNA are transcribed into RNA molecules that can encode proteins, called messenger RNA (mRNA). Other segments of DNA are transc ...

in hosts (in this case '' Spinus spinus''). They find differences between uninfected, infected and rising parasitemia, and infection past the peak. Besides immunological expression they find transcription of

cell death Cell death is the event of a biological cell ceasing to carry out its functions. This may be the result of the natural process of old cells dying and being replaced by new ones, as in programmed cell death, or may result from factors such as di ...

and stress response factors. However note that Scalf ''et al.'', 2019 finds this to be a difficult method to use in a related species, '' Taeniopygia guttata'', because different tissues transcribe different genes even in the same individual and under the same challenge. .

References

*More detail

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7201826 Plasmodium, ashfordi ashfordi Parasites of birds