Isospora
Genus of single-celled organisms
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Isospora is a genus of internal parasites in the subclass Coccidia.[1][2]
| Isospora | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Sar |
| Clade: | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Apicomplexa |
| Class: | Conoidasida |
| Order: | Eucoccidiorida |
| Family: | Eimeriidae |
| Genus: | Isospora Schneider, 1881 |
| Species | |
|
I. almaataensis | |

It is responsible for the condition isosporiasis, which causes acute, non-bloody diarrhoea in immunocompromised individuals.
Taxonomy
At least 248 species were originally described in this genus. For instance, the house sparrow has 12 species of Isospora.[1][2] However, most species are little studied, and some authors doubt whether all should be recognized as distinct species.[3] In 2005, all former Isospora species that infect mammalian hosts were reclassified as members of the genus Cystoisospora, a member of the Sarcocystidae family.[4]