Defretinella Explained

Defretinella is a genus of parasitic alveolates of the phylum Apicomplexa.

Taxonomy

This genus had been placed in the family Barrouxiidae by Levine^[1] but has since been moved to the family Eleutheroschizonidae.

There is one species recognised in this genus — Defretinella eulaliae.

Description

This species infects a polychete species — the green leaf worm (Eulalia viridis).^[2]

The oocysts contain >50 bivalved sporocysts: each sporocyst in its turn contains numerous sporozoites. The sporocysts are bivalved.

Notes and References

1. N.D. . Levine . The genera Barrouxia, Defretinella, and Goussia of the coccidian family Barrouxiidae (Protozoa, Apicomplexa) . J Euk Micro . 30 . 3 . 542–7 . 1983 . 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1983.tb01419.x .
2. E. . Hennere . Stades evolutifs de deux coccidies parasites d'annelides polychetes: Myriosporides amphiglenae, gen. n., sp. n., parasite de Amphiglena mediterranea Claparede (Sabellidae); Defretinella eulaliae, gen. n., sp. n., parasite de Eulalia viridis Muller (Phyllododidae) . Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Série D . 262 . 890–3 . 1966 .