Spironucleus

Genus of animal parasites

Spironucleus is a diplomonad genus that is bilaterally symmetrical and can be found in various animal hosts. This genus is a binucleate flagellate, which is able to live in the anaerobic conditions of animal intestinal tracts. A characteristic of Spironucleus that is common to all metamonads is that it does not have aerobic mitochondria, but instead rely on hydrogenosomes to produce energy. Spironucleus has six anterior and two posterior flagella. The life cycle of Spironucleus involves one active trophozoite stage and one inactive cyst stage. Spironucleus undergoes asexual reproduction via longitudinal binary fission. Spironucleus vortens can cause lateral line erosion in freshwater anglefish. Spironucleus columbae is found to cause hexamitiasis in pigeons. Finally, Spironucleus muris is found to cause illnesses of the digestive system in mice, rats, and hamsters. The genome of Spironucleus has been studied to exhibit the role of lateral gene transfer from prokaryotes in allowing for anaerobic metabolic processes in diplomonads.

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