"Plasmodium malariae" by Michael Wunderli is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Definition of Sprozoa
The term Sporozoa comes from the Greek, namely spore which means "seed" and zoa which means "animal". Sporozoa are the only members of Protozoa that do not have locomotion and move by launching their bodies in the medium in which they live. As the name implies, Sporozoa has a characteristic that is able to form spores in one stage of its life cycle.
There are 4,000 species of Sporozoa, most of which live as parasites on animals and humans. The body of Sporozoa is spherical or oval in shape, has a nucleus but lacks contractile vacuoles. The adult form has no means of movement. Many Sporozoans have complex life cycles, in certain phases living on a single host and at other phases living on different hosts.
In their life cycle, Sporozoa show an alternation of offspring between the vegetative and generative phases. Immature sporozoa are called sporocytes which move easily along the bloodstream. All Sporozoa form thick-walled spores when they are in the zygote stage. These spores are fixed structures that are dispersed through food, water, or insect bites.
Although Sporozoa do not have locomotion, they contain complex organelles that help them attach to and attack the host. Many of its members have complex life cycles. Therefore, the class Sporozoa is also called Apicomplexa. One of the well-known examples of Sporozoa is the cause of malaria, namely Plamodium .
Characteristics of Sporozoa
Sporozoa or Apicomplexa have several characteristics or characteristics that distinguish them from the other three types of Protozoa . Here, the author describes the characteristics of Sporozoa in general.
■ Do not have a special motion tools, so Sprozoa they move by sliding or varying the position of his body.
■ It is a single-celled organism (unicellular).
■ Plumpness parasitic, both animals and humans.
■ It can form spores at some point in their life cycle.
■ Have spores oval.
■ The size of the spores around 8 - 11 microns on a wall of chitin.
■ Has 2 polar capsules at the anterior, paired with a form like a pumpkin, the same size, located on the corner of the longitudinal axis with the posterior end.
■ From the front of the anterior end equal to the width of the posterior.
■ Wall valve unclear.
The life cycle of Sporozoa shows alternation of generations/offspring between sexual (generative phase) and asexual forms (vegetative phase).
■ The body is round or oval.
■ Have a nucleus (center cell) but does not have a contractile vacuole.
■ Have special complex organelles at one end of the cell (apex) which serves to penetrate cells and tissues of the host.
■ The process of absorption of food, breathing (respiration) and expenditures (excretion) occurs directly through the body surface.
■ Most Sporozoa species cause disease in the host (host) the host.
Sporozoa Classification
The sporozoa class has 3 (three) different characteristics between one genus and another, the differences include:
■ Genus sporozoa who live in red blood cells and require biological vectors, these properties are in Genus Plasmodi - um .
■ Genus sporozoa who live in the intestinal and does not require biological vectors, these properties are in the genus isospora and Genus Eimerie .
■ Parasites that live inside endothelial cells, leukocytes mono - nucleus, body fluids, cells and the host tissue is unknown biological vectors, these properties contained in the genus Toxoplasma .
Parasites belonging to the class sporozoa reproduce asexually (schizogony) and sexually (sporogony) alternately. Both of these ways of reproduction can take place in the same host, as occurs in the subclass Coccidia. Meanwhile, what takes place in two different hosts is found in the Haemosporidia subclass (Plasmodium). The sporozoa class can be classified - sikan as shown in the following diagram.
How to Reproduce Sporozoa
The way of reproduction in Sporozoa (ex. Plasmodium) was first discovered by Ronald Ross and Grassi. Reproduction in Sporozoa can occur in two ways, namely:
️ Asexual reproduction (vegetative) that occurs in the human body skizogoni (cleavage in the host's body remains) and on the body of the female Anopheles mosquito is sporogoni (sporulation on the host while).
️ Sexual reproduction (generative) by melting makrogamet and mikrogamet in the body of the Anopheles mosquito.
Read: Pictures and Stages of the Plasmodium Life Cycle in the Human Body and Mosquitoes.
Examples and Roles of Sporozoa in Life
As explained earlier that Sporozoa are parasitic in both animals and humans and mostly cause disease. Therefore, it is found that there are many detrimental roles compared to the beneficial roles of Sporozoa. Then what is the detrimental role of this Sporozoa? Here are some examples of Sporozoan organisms and their role in life.
️ ■ Babesia bigemina is a species of disease-causing Texas fever.
️■ Theileria parva is a species of disease-causing East Coast fever (Africa).
■ Toxoplasma gondii is a species Sporozoa cause Toxoplasmosis disease that causes meningitis, hepatitis and fetal infection. These organisms enter the human body through food, for example meat contaminated with toxoplasma cysts from cat or bird feces. Toxoplasma gondii infection is dangerous for pregnant women because it can cause babies born with mental disabilities, blindness, and swelling of the liver.
■️ Plasmodium vivax is the cause of malaria tertian. Sporulation period (spore formation period) every 2 x 24 hours.
■️ Plasmodium ovale is a cause of disease of the spleen. The sporulation period is every 48 hours.
️■ Plasmodium malariae is a cause of malaria quartana. The sporulation period is every 3 x 24 hours.
■ Plasmodium falciparum is the cause of malaria Tropikana. This Plamodium has a sporulation period of about 1 day (1 x 24 hours).
With so many types of malaria caused by Plasmodium, a drug was developed to prevent the spread of malaria. One of them is the drug chloroquinone (quinine) which can kill the malaria parasite. Unfortunately, this parasite has the ability to increase his body's immunity to chloroquinone .
The Anopheles mosquito extermination program did not run smoothly because these mosquitoes became resistant or resistant to pesticides (anti-pest agents). The researchers hope to use genetic engineering techniques to give the Anopheles mosquito the ability to kill the Plasmodium parasite, not spread it.
