Obligate intracellular parasite
Encyclopedia
Intracellular parasites are parasitic microorganism
s - microparasite
s that are capable of growing and reproducing inside the cells of a host
.
Bacterial examples include
Fungal examples include:
resources.
Obligate intracellular parasites of human
s include:
The mitochondria in eukaryotic cells may also have originally been such parasites, but ended up forming a mutualistic relationship (endosymbiotic theory
).
Study of obligate pathogens is difficult because they cannot usually be reproduced outside the host. However, in 2009 scientists reported a technique allowing the Q-fever pathogen Coxiella burnetii
to grow in an axenic
culture and suggested the technique may be useful for study of other pathogens.
Microorganism
A microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...
s - microparasite
Microparasite
A microparasite is a parasite that complete a full life cycle within one host and can be transmitted directly to conspecific hosts. They often reproduce within a host's cells and are generally too small to be seen with the naked eye. Most are viruses, bacteria and fungi with a smaller number being...
s that are capable of growing and reproducing inside the cells of a host
Host (biology)
In biology, a host is an organism that harbors a parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna...
.
Facultative
Facultative intracellular parasites are capable of living and reproducing either inside or outside cells.Bacterial examples include
- Francisella tularensisFrancisella tularensisFrancisella tularensis is a pathogenic species of gram-negative bacteria and the causative agent of tularemia or rabbit fever. It is a facultative intracellular bacterium....
- Listeria monocytogenes
- SalmonellaSalmonellaSalmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...
- BrucellaBrucellaBrucella is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria. They are small , non-motile, non-encapsulated coccobacilli, which function as facultative intracellular parasites....
- LegionellaLegionellaLegionella is a pathogenic Gram negative bacterium, including species that cause legionellosis or Legionnaires' disease, most notably L. pneumophila. It may be readily visualized with a silver stain....
- MycobacteriumMycobacteriumMycobacterium is a genus of Actinobacteria, given its own family, the Mycobacteriaceae. The genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis and leprosy...
- Rhodococcus equiRhodococcus equiRhodococcus equi is a Gram-positive coccobacillus bacterium. The organism is commonly found in dry and dusty soil and can be important for diseases of domesticated animals . The frequency of infection can reach near 60 percent. R. equi is an important pathogen causing pneumonia in foals. Since...
and YersiniaYersiniaYersinia is a genus of bacteria in the family Enterobacteriaceae. Yersinia are Gram-negative rod shaped bacteria, a few micrometers long and fractions of a micrometer in diameter, and are facultative anaerobes. Some members of Yersinia are pathogenic in humans; in particular, Y. pestis is the... - Neisseria meningitidisNeisseria meningitidisNeisseria meningitidis, often referred to as meningococcus, is a bacterium that can cause meningitis and other forms of meningococcal disease such as meningococcemia, a life threatening sepsis. N. meningitidis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality during childhood in industrialized countries...
Fungal examples include:
- Histoplasma capsulatum.
- Cryptococcus neoformansCryptococcus neoformansCryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated yeast that can live in both plants and animals. Its teleomorph is Filobasidiella neoformans, a filamentous fungus belonging to the class Tremellomycetes. It is often found in pigeon excrement....
Obligate
Obligate intracellular parasites cannot reproduce outside their host cell, meaning that the parasite's reproduction is entirely reliant on intracellularIntracellular
Not to be confused with intercellular, meaning "between cells".In cell biology, molecular biology and related fields, the word intracellular means "inside the cell".It is used in contrast to extracellular...
resources.
Obligate intracellular parasites of human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s include:
- All virusVirusA virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es - Certain bacteriaBacteriaBacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
, including:- ChlamydiaChlamydia (bacterium)Chlamydia is a genus of bacteria that are obligate intracellular parasites. Chlamydia infections are the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infections in humans and are the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide....
, and closely related species. - RickettsiaRickettsiaRickettsia is a genus of non-motile, Gram-negative, non-sporeforming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that can present as cocci , rods or thread-like . Being obligate intracellular parasites, the Rickettsia survival depends on entry, growth, and replication within the cytoplasm of eukaryotic host cells...
- CoxiellaCoxiellaCoxiella refers to a genus of Gram-negative bacteria in the family Coxiellaceae. It is named after Harold Herald Rea Cox , an American bacteriologist. Coxiella burnetii is the only member of this genus...
- Certain species of MycobacteriumMycobacteriumMycobacterium is a genus of Actinobacteria, given its own family, the Mycobacteriaceae. The genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis and leprosy...
such as Mycobacterium lepraeMycobacterium lepraeMycobacterium leprae, also known as Hansen’s coccus spirilly, mostly found in warm tropical countries, is a bacterium that causes leprosy . It is an intracellular, pleomorphic, acid-fast bacterium. M. leprae is an aerobic bacillus surrounded by the characteristic waxy coating unique to mycobacteria...
- Chlamydia
- Certain protozoaProtozoaProtozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...
, including:- PlasmodiaPlasmodiumPlasmodium is a genus of parasitic protists. Infection by these organisms is known as malaria. The genus Plasmodium was described in 1885 by Ettore Marchiafava and Angelo Celli. Currently over 200 species of this genus are recognized and new species continue to be described.Of the over 200 known...
species - LeishmaniaLeishmaniaLeishmania is a genus of Trypanosomatid protozoa, and is the parasite responsible for the disease leishmaniasis. It is spread through sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World, and of the genus Lutzomyia in the New World. Their primary hosts are vertebrates; Leishmania commonly infects...
spp. - Toxoplasma gondiiToxoplasma gondiiToxoplasma gondii is a species of parasitic protozoa in the genus Toxoplasma. The definitive host of T. gondii is the cat, but the parasite can be carried by many warm-blooded animals . Toxoplasmosis, the disease of which T...
- Trypanosoma cruziTrypanosoma cruziTrypanosoma cruzi is a species of parasitic euglenoid trypanosomes. This species causes the trypanosomiasis diseases in humans and animals in America...
- Cryptosporidium parvumCryptosporidium parvumCryptosporidium parvum is one of several protozoal species that cause cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic disease of the mammalian intestinal tract....
- Plasmodia
- Others
- Pneumocystis jiroveciiPneumocystis jiroveciiPneumocystis jirovecii is a yeast-like fungus of the genus Pneumocystis. The causative organism of Pneumocystis pneumonia, it is an important human pathogen, particularly among immunocompromised hosts. Prior to its discovery as a human-specific pathogen, P. jirovecii was known as P...
- Pneumocystis jirovecii
The mitochondria in eukaryotic cells may also have originally been such parasites, but ended up forming a mutualistic relationship (endosymbiotic theory
Endosymbiotic theory
The endosymbiotic theory concerns the mitochondria, plastids , and possibly other organelles of eukaryotic cells. According to this theory, certain organelles originated as free-living bacteria that were taken inside another cell as endosymbionts...
).
Study of obligate pathogens is difficult because they cannot usually be reproduced outside the host. However, in 2009 scientists reported a technique allowing the Q-fever pathogen Coxiella burnetii
Coxiella burnetii
Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen, and is the causative agent of Q fever. The genus Coxiella is morphologically similar to Rickettsia, but with a variety of genetic and physiological differences. C...
to grow in an axenic
Axenic
In biology, axenic describes a culture of an organism that is entirely free of all other "contaminating" organisms. The earliest axenic cultures were of bacteria or unicellular eukaryotes, but axenic cultures of many multicellular organisms are also possible...
culture and suggested the technique may be useful for study of other pathogens.