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Arthropods ❖ They obtain nutrients by absorption or

ingestion.
❖ animals with jointed legs. ❖ All are unicellular, and many are motile.
❖ The arthropods that transmit diseases are ❖ Parasitic protozoans often form resistant
important in microbiology. ❖ cysts.
❖ These include ticks and some insects;
most often, members of the mosquito ➢ Fungi, protozoa, and helminths cause
family are responsible for transmitting
diseases in humans, which are usually
disease.
Helminths diagnosed through microscopic
examination.
❖ Multicellular animals ➢ Eukaryotic infections are challenging to
❖ They are chemoheterotrophs. treat due to human eukaryotic cells.
❖ Obtain nutrients by ingestion through a ➢ Algal diseases are not infectious but
mouth; some are absorptive. intoxications due to ingesting toxins
❖ Parasitic helminths often have elaborate produced by algae.
life cycles including egg, larva, and adult. ➢ Arthropods, known as vectors, transmit
Fungi infectious diseases, such as West Nile
encephalitis, which can be best
❖ Fungi are in the Fungi kingdom. controlled by limiting exposure to them.
❖ Fungi are chemoheterotrophs and
acquire food by absorption.
❖ With the exception of yeasts, fungi are
multicellular. Fungi
❖ Most reproduce with sexual and asexual ❖ Over the past decade, the incidence of
spores.
serious fungal infections has increased,
Algae primarily due to healthcare-associated
❖ belong to several kingdoms and can infections and compromised immune
reproduce both sexually and asexually. systems.
They are photoautotrophs and produce ❖ These diseases cost over $1 billion
several different photosynthetic annually and affect economically
pigments.
important plants.
❖ They obtain nutrients by diffusion.
❖ Some are multicellular, forming colonies, ❖ Fungi are beneficial in the food chain,
filaments, or even tissues. decomposing dead plant matter and
❖ A few produce toxins. recycling vital elements.
❖ They are the primary decomposers of
Protozoa hard parts of plants, which cannot be
❖ belong to several kingdoms. Most are
digested by animals.
chemoheterotrophic, but a few are
photoautotrophic.

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❖ Most plants depend on symbiotic fungi, ❖ In some classes of fungi, hyphae contain
known as mycorrhizae, which help their no septa and appear as long, continuous
roots absorb minerals and water from the cells with many nuclei called coenocytic
soil. hyphae.
❖ Fungi are also valuable to animals, as ❖ Even in fungi with septate hyphae, there
they break down cellulose and lignin from are openings in the septa that make the
plants, providing glucose for ants to cytoplasm of adjacent cells continuous.
digest. ❖ Hyphae grow by elongating at the tips,
❖ Fungi are used by humans for food, and each part can grow.
producing foods, and drugs. ❖ In the laboratory, fungi are usually grown
❖ Mycology studies fungi, focusing on from fragments obtained from a fungal
structures, life cycles, and nutritional thallus.
needs. ❖ The vegetative hypha obtains nutrients,
❖ All fungi are chemoheterotrophs, while the reproductive or aerial hypha is
requiring organic compounds for energy responsible for reproduction.
and carbon. Only a few anaerobic fungi ❖ Aerial hyphae often bear reproductive
are known. spores.
❖ When environmental conditions are
Characteristics of Fungi
suitable, hyphae grow to form a
❖ Yeast identification, like bacterial filamentous mass called a mycelium,
identification, uses bio-chemical tests, visible to the unaided eye.
while multicellular fungi are identified
Yeast
based on physical appearance, colony
characteristics, and reproductive spores. ❖ Yeasts are nonfilamentous, unicellular
fungi found in nature, often found as a
Vegetative Structures
white powdery coating on fruits and
❖ Fungal colonies are vegetative structures, leaves.
composed of cells involved in catabolism ❖ Budding yeasts, like Saccharomyces,
and growth. divide unevenly, with the parent cell
forming a protuberance (bud) on its outer
Molds and Fleshy Fungi
surface.
❖ The thallus of a mold or fleshy fungus ❖ As the bud elongates, the parent cell's
consists of long filaments called hyphae, nucleus divides, and one nucleus
which can grow to immense proportions. migrates into the bud.
In most molds, hyphae contain septa, ❖ Cell wall material is laid down between
which divide them into distinct, the bud and parent cell, and the bud
uninucleate cell-like units called septate eventually breaks away.
hyphae.
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❖ One yeast cell can produce up to 24 Life Cycle

daughter cells by budding.
❖ Fungi can reproduce asexually by
❖ Some yeasts produce buds that fail to
fragmenting their hyphae, and both sexual
detach themselves, forming a short chain
and asexual reproduction occurs through
of cells called a pseudohypha.
the formation of spores.
❖ Candida albicans attaches to human
❖ Fungal spores differ from bacterial
epithelial cells as a yeast but usually
endospores, which allow bacterial cells
requires pseudohyphae to invade deeper
to survive adverse environmental
tissues.
conditions.
❖ Fission yeasts, like
❖ Bacterial endospores form one
Schizosaccharomyces, divide evenly to
endospore, which germinates to produce
produce two new cells.
a single vegetative bacterial cell, but this
❖ Increases in yeast cells on a solid
process is not reproduction.
medium produce a colony similar to a
❖ Fungal spores can survive in dry or hot
bacterial colony.
environments but do not exhibit the
❖ Yeasts can use oxygen or an organic
extreme tolerance and longevity of
compound as the final electron acceptor,
bacterial endospores.
allowing them to survive in various
❖ Spores are formed from aerial hyphae in
environments.
various ways, depending on the species.
❖ If given oxygen, they perform aerobic
❖ Asexual spores are formed by the hyphae
respiration to metabolize carbohydrates
of one organism, becoming genetically
to carbon dioxide and water.
identical to the parent.
Dimorphic fungi ❖ Sexual spores result from the fusion of
nuclei from two opposite mating strains of
❖ particularly pathogenic species, can grow
the same species of fungus.
as molds or yeasts.
❖ Fungi produce sexual spores less
❖ Mold-like fungi produce hyphae, while
frequently than asexual spores, and
yeast-like fungi reproduce through
organisms that grow from sexual spores
budding.
will have genetic characteristics of both
❖ Dimorphism in pathogenic fungi is
parent strains.
temperature-dependent, with yeast-like
❖ Spores are crucial in identifying fungi, and
fungi at 37°C and mold-like fungi at 25°C.
understanding the various types of
❖ However, the appearance of
asexual and sexual spores is essential for
nonpathogenic dimorphic fungi changes
understanding their life cycle.
with CO2 concentration.

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Asexual spores Nutritional Adaptions

❖ are produced by individual fungi through ❖ Fungi are chemoheterotrophs that absorb
mitosis and cell division, without cell nutrients rather than ingesting them like
fusion. animals.
❖ There are two types of asexual spores: ❖ They thrive in acidic environments with a
❖ conidiospores, which are unicellular or pH of about 5, unlike most common
multicellular spores not enclosed in a bacteria.
sac, and arthroconidia, which are formed ❖ Most molds are aerobic, while yeasts are
by fragmenting a septate hypha into facultative anaerobes.
single, slightly thickened cells. ❖ Fungi are more resistant to osmotic
❖ Blastoconidia, consisting of buds coming pressure, allowing them to grow in high
off the parent cell, are found in some sugar or salt concentrations.
yeasts like Candida albicans and ❖ They can grow on substances with low
Cryptococcus. moisture content, which is too low for
❖ Chlamydoconidiums are thick-walled bacteria to support growth.
spores formed by rounding and ❖ Fungi require less nitrogen for growth and
enlargement within a hyphal segment, can metabolize complex carbohydrates
produced by yeast C. albicans. like lignin, which most bacteria cannot
❖ The other type is sporangiospores, formed use for nutrients.
within a sporangium at the end of an ❖ These characteristics allow fungi to grow
aerial hypha called a sporangiophore. on unlikely substrates like bathroom
❖ Rhizopus produces sporangiospores walls, shoe leather, and discarded
within a sporangium, which can contain newspapers
hundreds of sporangiospores.
Medically Important Fungi
Sexual Spores
❖ A fungal sexual spore results from sexual
❖ reproduction, which consists of three Zygomycota
phases:
1. Plasmogamy. A haploid nucleus of a ❖ Zygomycota, or conjugation fungi, are
donor cell (+) penetrates the saprophytic molds with coenocytic
cytoplasm of a recipient cell (−). hyphae, such as Rhizopus Stolonifer, the
2. Karyogamy. The (+) and (−) nuclei
common black bread mold.
fuse to form a diploid zygote nucleus.
❖ The asexual spores are sporangiospores,
3. Meiosis. The diploid nucleus gives
rise to haploid nuclei (sexual spores), which are dark inside the sporangium and
some of which may be genetic dispersed when the sporangium breaks
recombinants. open.

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❖ When they fall on a suitable medium, they ❖ Basidiomycota, or club fungi, are fungi
germinate into a new mold thallus. that produce mushrooms and have
❖ The sexual spores are zygospores, large septate hyphae.
spores enclosed in a thick wall, resulting ❖ They are formed externally on a basidium,
from the fusion of two similar- with four basidiospores per basidium.
morphological cells. ❖ Some fungi produce asexual
conidiospores.
❖ Teleomorphs produce both sexual and
Microsporidia asexual spores, while anamorphs have
lost the ability to reproduce sexually.
❖ Microsporidia are obligate intracellular
Historical fungi were placed in a "holding
parasites lacking mitochondria and
category" called Deuteromycota.
microtubules.
❖ Mycologists are now using rRNA
❖ Initially classified as fungi in 1857, they
sequencing to classify these organisms,
were reclassified as protists in 1983.
with most being anamorph phases of
❖ Recent genome sequencing reveals they
Ascomycota and a few basidiomycetes.
are fungi, with sexual reproduction likely
❖ Some fungi that cause human diseases
occurring within the host.
are known by their anamorph, or asexual,
❖ Since 1984, they have been reported as
the cause of various human diseases, name.
including chronic diarrhea and Fungal Diseases
keratoconjunctivitis, particularly in AIDS
❖ Mycosis is a chronic, long-lasting fungal
patients.
infection that can be classified into five
Ascomycota groups based on tissue involvement and
❖ Ascomycota, or sac fungi, are molds with entry into the host: systemic,
septate hyphae and some yeasts. subcutaneous, cutaneous, superficial, or
❖ Their asexual spores, called Conidia, are opportunistic.
dust-like and detach from the chain. ❖ Fungal infections are often difficult to
❖ They result from the fusion of two cells' treat due to their association with animals
nuclei, producing spores in a saclike and the potential for drugs to affect fungal
structure called an ascus. cells.
❖ Members of this phylum are called sac ❖ Systemic mycoses are deep-rooted
fungi. infections that can affect various tissues
and organs, usually caused by fungi living
Basidiomycota in the soil.
❖ They are not contagious from animal to
human or from human to human.

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❖ Subcutaneous mycoses are fungal ❖ They also serve as biological controls of

infections beneath the skin caused by pests, such as Entomophaga, which killed
saprophytic fungi. gypsy moths in the eastern United States.
❖ Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous ❖ Scientists are currently investigating the
infection acquired by gardeners and use of several fungi to kill pests, such as
farmers. Coniothyrium minitans, which feeds on
❖ Dermatophytes infect only the epidermis, fungi that destroy soybeans and other
hair, and nails, and their infections are bean crops, and a foam filled with
called dermatomycoses or cutaneous Paecilomyces fumosoroseus to kill
mycoses. termites.
❖ Superficial mycoses are localized along
hair shafts and surface epidermal cells
and are prevalent in tropical climates. ❖ However, fungi can also have undesirable
❖ Opportunistic pathogens can become effects on agriculture due to their
pathogenic in debilitated or traumatized nutritional adaptations.
hosts, those under treatment with broad- ❖ Mold spoilage of fruits, grains, and
spectrum antibiotics, those with vegetables is common, but bacterial
suppressed immune systems, or those spoilage is not.
with lung diseases. ❖ Fruits, jams, and jellies are acidic and
❖ Examples include Pneumocystis, have high osmotic pressure, which
Stachybotrys, Mucormycosis, discourage bacterial growth but support
Aspergillosis, Cryptococcus, and mold growth.
Penicillium. ❖ Fresh meats and certain foods are good
❖ Yeast infection, or candidiasis, is most substrates for bacterial growth, which can
frequently caused by Candida albicans actively suppress mold growth.
and may occur as vulvovaginal
candidiasis or thrush.
❖ Candida albicans can also cause ❖ The spreading chestnut tree in the United
candidiasis in newborns, AIDS patients, States has been killed by a fungal blight
and those being treated with broad- caused by the ascomycete Cryphonectria
spectrum antibiotics. parasitica, which allows tree roots to live
and produce shoots but also kills the
Economic Effects of Fungi
shoots.
❖ Fungi have been utilized in biotechnology ❖ Cryphonectria-resistant chestnuts are
for many years, producing products such being defoliated, and the Dutch elm
as citric acid, bread, wine, and the disease, caused by Ceratocystis ulmi, is
anticancer drug taxol. being eradicated by bark beetles.

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❖ After the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear

disaster, 70,000 reindeer in Lapland were
Lichens
destroyed due to high levels of radiation
❖ Lichens are a combination of green alga from absorbed radioactive cesium-137.
and fungus, classified according to their ❖ Lichens are classified as part of the
fungal partner, often an ascomycete. They Kingdom Fungi and can be found in
exist in a mutualistic relationship, diverse habitats.
benefiting both partners.
Algae
❖ Lichens can be found on trees, concrete
structures, and rooftops and can be ❖ Algae, commonly known as brown kelp in
grouped into three morphologic coastal waters, are photoautotrophs
categories: crustose, foliose, and lacking the roots and stems of plants.
fruticose. ❖ They are mostly aquatic, but some can be
❖ They secrete organic acids that weather found in soil or trees when moisture is
rock and accumulate nutrients for plant available.
growth. ❖ Algae have unusual habitats, such as the
❖ Lichens can be found on trees, concrete hair of the sedentary South American
structures, and rooftops and are some of sloth and the polar bear.
the slowest-growing organisms on Earth. ❖ Water is essential for their physical
❖ Lichens have significant economic support, reproduction, and nutrient
importance in ancient Greece and diffusion.
Europe, as they were used as dyes for ❖ Algae are typically found in cool
clothing, antimicrobial agents, and dyes temperate waters, but some species grow
for litmus paper. in antarctic waters.
❖ Some lichens or their acids can cause
Characteristics of Algae
allergic contact dermatitis in humans.
Lichen populations readily incorporate ❖ Algae are simple photoautotrophs lacking
positively charged ions into their thalli, plant tissues, found in the ocean.
which can be used to determine air ❖ Identification requires microscopic
quality. examination.
❖ Chemical analyses of lichen thalli can ❖ Locations depend on nutrients, light
determine concentrations and types of wavelengths, and surface conditions.
cations in the atmosphere. ❖ Representative algae are likely found in
specific locations.
❖ Lichens are the major food source for
Vegetative Structures
tundra herbivores like caribou and
reindeer. ❖ A thallus is the body of a multicellular
alga, including seaweeds.
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❖ It consists of branched holdfasts, Selected Phyla of Algae

stemlike stipes, and leaflike blades.
❖ Brown algae, or kelp, are macroscopic
❖ The thallus can carry out photosynthesis
algae found in coastal waters with a
but lacks conductive tissue.
phenomenal growth rate.
❖ Algae absorb nutrients from water, and
❖ They can be harvested regularly and are
the surrounding water supports the
used in various foods.
thallus.
❖ Diatoms, unicellular algae, store energy
❖ Some algae are buoyed by a floating, gas-
captured through photosynthesis in the
filled bladder called a pneumatocyst.
form of oil.
Life Cycle ❖ The first reported outbreak of a
neurological disease caused by diatoms
❖ Algae can reproduce asexually, with
was in 1987 in Canada, where people ate
multicellular algae forming new thallus or
mussels that had been feeding on
filaments.
diatoms.
❖ When unicellular algadivides, the nucleus
❖ The disease caused by domoic acid was
divides, forming two complete cells.
reported in 1987, and hundreds of marine
❖ Sexual reproduction also occurs in algae,
birds and sea lions have died from the
with some species alternating
same intoxication since 1991.
generations between asexual and sexual
reproduction.
❖ Some species produce offspring from
❖ Dinoflagellates, unicellular algae,
sexual reproduction, while the next
collectively called plankton, have a rigid
generation reproduces sexually.
structure due to cellulose embedded in
Nutrition the plasma membrane.
❖ In the last 20 years, a worldwide increase
❖ Algae, a common name for various phyla,
in toxic marine algae has killed millions of
are mostly photosynthetic, with some
fish, hundreds of marine mammals, and
being chemoheterotrophs.
even some humans.
❖ They are found in the photic zone of water
❖ The disease called ciguatera occurs
and are characterized by their unique
when the dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus
colors due to chroorophyll a and
toxicus passes up the food chain and is
pigments involved in photosynthesis.
concentrated in large fish.
❖ Algae are classified based on their rRNA
sequences, structures, and pigments.

❖ Oomycota, or decomposers, form cottony

masses on dead algae and animals,
usually in fresh water.

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❖ Many terrestrial oomycotes are plant ❖ Some are part of animal microbiota, like
parasites, and the USDA inspects Nosema locustae, an insect pathogen.
imported plants for white rust and other ❖ Researchers are studying an
parasites. apicomplexan protozoan to reduce fire
❖ Phytophthora infestans, a fungus that ant egg production.
caused the potato blight in Ireland, ❖ Although few protozoa cause human
infects soybeans, potatoes, and cocoa disease, they have significant health and
worldwide. economic impacts, such as malaria being
❖ In Australia, P. cinnamoni has infected the fourth leading cause of death in
about 20% of one species of Eucalyptus Africa.
tree.
Characteristics of Protozoa
Roles of Algae in Nature
❖ The term protozoan means “first animal,”
❖ Algae play a crucial role in aquatic food which generally describes its animal-like
chains by converting carbon dioxide into nutrition.
❖ In addition to getting food, a protozoan
organic molecules and producing molten
must reproduce, and parasitic species
oxygen (O2). must be able to get from one host to
❖ They are found in the top few meters of another.
water, covering 75% of the Earth.
❖ Algal blooms, which increase due to
Life Cycle
seasonal changes in nutrients, light, and
temperature, are responsible for red ❖ Protozoa reproduce asexually through
tides. fission, budding, or schizogony, with
❖ Algae also contribute to petroleum schizogony involving multiple
production, as they decompose organic divisions of the nucleus.
molecules and release oxygen. ❖ Some protozoa, like Paramecium,
❖ Some unicellular algae are symbionts in reproduce sexually through
animals, such as the giant clam Tridacna, conjugation, where two cells fuse,
which hosts dinoflagellates in its organs forming a haploid micronucleus.
and releases glycerol into its ❖ Parent cells separate, producing
bloodstream. daughter cells with recombined DNA.
❖ This process provides essential proteins ❖ Some protozoa produce gametes,
and carbohydrates for the clam. haploid sex cells, which fuse to form
diploid zygote.
Protozoa

❖ Protozoa are unicellular, eukaryotic

organisms that inhabit water and soil,
feeding on bacteria and nutrients.
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Encystment ❖ It is typically transmitted through sexual

interaction or toilet facilities.
❖ Protozoa produce a protective cyst under
adverse conditions, allowing them to Euglenozoa
survive in harsh conditions like lack of
❖ Euglenozoa comprises two groups of
food, moisture, oxygen, or toxic
flagellated cells, Euglenoids and
chemicals.
Hemoflagellates.
❖ This cyst, called an oocyst in
❖ Euglenoids are photoautotrophs with a
Apicomplexa, also facilitates parasitic
semirigid plasma membrane called a
species' survival outside hosts.
pellicle and a red eyespot.
Nutrition ❖ Some are facultative
chemoheterotrophs, ingesting organic
❖ Protozoa are aerobic heterotrophs, with
matter through a cytostome.
some invertebrate protozoa capable of
❖ Euglenoids are often studied with algae
anaerobic growth.
due to their ability to photosynthesise
❖ They live in water-rich areas and transport
hemoflagellates, blood parasites
food through plasma membranes or
transmitted by blood-feeding insects.
pellicle-protected structures.
❖ The genus Trypanosoma includes African
❖ Ciliates and amebas ingest food through
sleeping sickness and Chagas' disease,
cytostomes or pseudopods, and digestion
which can contaminate bite wounds.
occurs in membrane-enclosed vacuoles
Amebae
Medically Important of Protozoa
❖ Entamoebae, the only pathogenic ameba
Feeding Grooves
found in the human intestine, can
❖ The Excavata superkingdom includes colonize up to 10% of the population.
single-celled eukaryotes with a feeding ❖ New techniques have revealed two
groove in the cytoskeleton, including two distinct species, E. dispar and E.
phyla lacking mitochondria and histolytica, which cause amebic
Euglenozoa. dysentery and cell lysis.
❖ Giardia lamblia, a parasite without ❖ Entamoeba is transmitted through
mitochondria, is found in humans' small ingestion of cysts excreted in infected
intestines and is excreted as cysts in individuals' feces.
feces. ❖ Acanthamoeba, growing in water, can
❖ Trichomonas vaginalis, another human cause cornea infection and blindness.
parasite lacking mitochondria, has an ❖ Balamuthia, a free-living ameba found in
undulating membrane and is found in the water, causes granulomatous amebic
vagina and male urinary tract. encephalitis since 1990.

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Apicomplexa ❖ Malaria is diagnosed in the laboratory by

microscopic examination of thick blood
❖ Apicomplexa are obligate intracellular
smears for the presence of Plasmodium.
parasites with a complex life cycle that
❖ A peculiar characteristic of malaria is that
involves transmission between several
the interval between periods of fever
hosts.
caused by the release of merozoites is
❖ Plasmodium, the causative agent of
always the same for a given species of
malaria, is an example of an
Plasmodium and is always a multiple of
apicomplexan, as it grows by sexual
24 hours.
reproduction in the Anopheles mosquito.
❖ Toxoplasma gondii is another
❖ When an Anopheles carrying the infective
apicomplexan intracellular parasite of
stage of Plasmodium, called a sporozoite,
humans, transmitted through the feces of
bites a human, sporozoites can be
cows, rodents, dogs, and cats.
injected into the human.
❖ Cryptosporidium lives inside the cells
lining the small intestine and can be
transmitted to humans through the feces
❖ The sporozoites undergo schizogony in
of cows, rodents, dogs, and cats.
liver cells and produce thousands of
progeny called merozoites, which infect Ciliates
red blood cells.
❖ Ciliates, similar to flagella, have cilia
❖ The red blood cells eventually rupture and
arranged in precise rows on cells to
release more merozoites, releasing their
propel cells and bring food particles to
waste products, which cause fever and
the mouth.
chills.
❖ Balantidium coli is the only ciliate that
❖ Most of the merozoites infect new red
causes a rare type of dysentery.
blood cells and perpetuate their cycle of
❖ When the host ingests cysts, they enter
asexual reproduction.
the large intestine, where trophozoites
❖ Some develop into male and female
produce proteases and destroy host cells.
sexual forms (gametocytes), which can be
❖ The trophozoite feeds on host cells and
picked up by the bite of another
tissue fragments
Anopheles mosquito and enter the
mosquito's intestine. Slime Molds
❖ Their progeny can then be injected into a
❖ Slime molds, closely related to amebae,
new human host by the biting mosquito.
are found in the phylum Amoebozoa and
are divided into two taxa: cellular and
plasmodial.

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❖ Cellular slime molds are eukaryotic cells Helminths

that resemble amebae and grow by
❖ Parasitic animals, mostly from the phyla
ingesting fungi and bacteria through
Platyphelminthes and Nematoda, spend
phagocytosis.
part or all their lives in humans.
❖ They are interesting to biologists who
❖ These helminths, also known as free-
study cellular migration and aggregation,
living species, can cause diseases, and
as they aggregate when conditions are
their impact is significant.
unfavorable.
❖ Some ameboid cells form a stalk, while Characteristics
others swarm up the stalk to form a spore
❖ Helminths are multicellular eukaryotic
cap, which differentiates into spores.
animals with digestive, circulatory,
❖ When spores are released under
nervous, excretory, and reproductive
favorable conditions, they germinate to
systems.
form single amebae.
❖ Parasitic helminths are highly specialized
❖ In 1973, a Dallas resident discovered a
for their hosts, distinguishing them from
pulsating red blob in his backyard, which
their free-living relatives.
was later discovered to be a plasmodial
1. They may lack a digestive system. They
slime mold. can absorb nutrients from the host’s
❖ Plasmodial slime molds were first food, body fluids, and tissues.
reported in 1729 and exist as a mass of 2. Their nervous system is reduced. They do
multinucleated protoplasm called a not need an extensive nervous system
plasmodium. because they do not have to search for
food or respond much to their
❖ They move as giant amebas, engulfing
environment. The environment within a
organic debris and bacteria. host is fairly constant.
❖ When food and moisture are in short
supply, the plasmodium separates into 3. Their means of locomotion is
groups of protoplasm, forming astalked occasionally reduced or com- pletely
sporangium. lacking. Because they are transferred
from host to host, they do not need to
❖ When conditions improve, these spores
search actively for a suitable habitat.
germinate, fuse to form diploid cells, and
4. Their reproductive system is often
develop into a multinucleated complex. An individual produces large
plasmodium. numbers of eggs, by which a suitable host
is infected

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Life Cycle ❖ Laboratory diagnosis involves

microscopic examination of sputum and
❖ The life cycle of parasitic helminths is
feces for fluke eggs.
complex, involving intermediate hosts for
❖ Infection occurs from eating
larval stages and a definitive host for
undercooked freshwater crustaceans,
adult stages.
which can be prevented by thoroughly
❖ Adult helminths can be dioecious, with
cooking crayfish and freshwater crabs.
male and female reproductive organs in
❖ Schistosoma, a blood fluke, burrows
one individual, or monoecious, with one
through human skin and enters the
animal having both.
circulatory system, and the disease
❖ Reproduction occurs only when two
Schistosomiasis is a major global health
opposite-sex adults are in the same host.
problem.
Platyhelminths
Cestodes
❖ Members of the phylum Platyhelminthes,
the flatworms, are dorsoventrally ❖ Cestodes, or tapeworms, are intestinal
flattened. parasites with suckers for attachment to
❖ The classes of parasitic flatworms the host's intestinal mucosa.
include the trematodes and cestodes. ❖ They lack a digestive system and absorb
These parasites cause disease or nutrients through their cuticle.
developmental disturbances in a wide ❖ The body consists of proglottids,
variety of animals
produced by the scolex's neck region,
which contain male and female
Thermatodes reproductive organs.
❖ Trematodes, or flukes, are flat, leaf- ❖ The mature proglottids are bags of eggs,
shaped organisms with suckers that hold each infective to the appropriate
them in place. intermediate host.
❖ They absorb food through their cuticle ❖ They are found farthest away from the
and are named based on the tissue of the scolex and continue to produce
definitive host. proglottids.
❖ Adult lung flukes live in the bronchioles of Humans as Definitive Hosts
humans and other mammals, and
❖ Taenia saginata, the beef tapeworm, lives
hermaphroditic adults release eggs into
in humans and can reach 6 meters in
the bronchi.
length.
❖ Eggs are excreted in the definitive host's
❖ Its adults, which are about 2 mm long,
feces, and adult flukes mature in the
contain thousands of proglottids, each of
lungs of a new host.
which contains thousands of eggs.

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❖ When infected, these proglottids wriggle 3. The eggs hatch in the human’s small
away from the fecal material, increasing intestine, and the larvae migrate to the
their chances of being ingested by grazing liver or lungs.
animals. 4. The larva develops into a hydatid cyst. The
❖ Upon ingestion, larvae hatch from the cyst contains “brood capsules”, from
eggs and bore through the intestinal wall, which thousands of scoleces might be
migratory to muscle (meat), encysting as produced.
cysticerci. 5. Humans are a dead-end for the parasites,
❖ When consumed by humans, all but the but in the wild, the cyst might be in a deer
scolex is digested, and the scolex anchors that is eaten by a wolf.
itself in the small intestine and begins 6. The scoleces would be able to attach
producing proglottids. themselves in the wolf’s intestine and
❖ Diagnosis of tapeworm infection in produce proglottids.
humans is based on the presence of
Nematodes
mature proglottids and eggs in feces.
❖ Humans are the only known definitive ❖ Roundworms, part of the Phylum
host of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium. Nematoda, are cylindrical and tapered
❖ Adult worms in the human intestine nematodes with a complete digestive
produce eggs, which are passed out in system.
feces. ❖ They are dioecious and have hardened
❖ When eaten by pigs, the larval helminth spicules on their posterior ends to guide
encysts in the pig's muscles, causing sperm to the female's genital pore.
humans to become infected when they ❖ Some species are free-living in soil and
eat undercooked pork. water, while others are parasites on
plants and animals.
Human Intermediate Hosts
❖ Intestinal roundworms are the most
❖ Humans are the intermediate hosts for common cause of chronic infectious
Echinococcus granulosus, Dogs and diseases, infecting over 2 billion people
coyotes are the definitive hosts for this worldwide.
minute (2–8 mm) tapeworm. ❖ Nematode infections can be divided into
1. Eggs are excreted with feces egg and larva infections.
2. Eggs are ingested by deer, sheep, or
Eggs Infective for Humans
humans. Humans can also become
infected by contaminating their hands ❖ Ascaris lumbricoides is a large nematode
with dog feces or saliva from a dog that that infects over 1 billion people
licked itself. worldwide.

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❖ It is dioecious with sexual dimorphism, ❖ They feed on bacteria and enter the host's
with males being smaller and having a skin, blood vessels, and lungs.
curled tail. Trichinellosis is caused by a nematode,
❖ The adult Ascaris lives in the small Dirofilaria immitis, which is spread
intestines of humans and feeds primarily through bites of Aedes mosquitoes.
on semidigested food. ❖ It primarily affects dogs and cats but can
❖ Eggs, excreted with feces, can survive in infest human skin, conjunctiva, or lungs.
the soil for long periods until ingested by ❖ Larvae injected by the mosquito migrate
another host. to various organs, where they mature into
❖ The eggs hatch in the host's small adults.
intestine, and the larvae burrow out of the ❖ Heartworms, which can kill their host
intestine and enter the blood. through congestive heart failure, occur on
❖ They grow in the lungs and are then every continent except Antarctica.
coughed up, swallowed, and returned to ❖ Wolbachia bacteria are essential for
the small intestine. worm embryo development
❖ Raccoon roundworm, Baylisascaris ❖ . Anisakines, or wriggly worms, can be
procyonis, is an emerging worm in North transmitted to humans from infected fish
America, with raccoons as the definitive and squid.
host.
❖ Eggs are shed with feces and ingested by
rabbits and humans. Arthropods as Vectors
❖ Larva migrans can cause severe
❖ Arthropods, the largest phylum in the
neurological symptoms or death.
animal kingdom, have segmented bodies,
❖ Trichuris trichiura, or whipworm, is spread
hard external skeletons, and jointed legs.
from person to person through fecal-oral
❖ They suck human blood and can transmit
transmission or feces-contaminated
microbial diseases, known as vectors.
food.
❖ Arthropods cause diseases like scabies
❖ The pinworm Enterobius vermicularis
and pediculosis, making them a potential
spends its entire life in a human host.
source of pathogenic microorganisms.
Larvae Infected for Humans
Respresentative classes of arthropods include
❖ Adult hookworms, Necator americanus the following:
and Ancylostoma duodenale, live in
o Arachnida (eight legs): spiders, mites,
humans' small intestines and hatch in
soil. ticks
o Crustacea (four antennae): crabs,
crayfish
o Insecta (six legs): bees, flies, lice
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