In article <3o0hu3$qs4 at chaos.dac.neu.edu> bnorum at lynx.dac.neu.edu (Becky Norum) writes:
>MissAndree (missandree at aol.com) wrote:i
[snip]
>: are giardias amoebas, or an entirely different parasite? Do you
>: get all of these from water (which I tried to avoid,) or do you get them
>: from food, dirt, etc.
>>This is what I have picked up in my Parasitology class:
[snip]
>B- The only amoeba of real significance in humans is Entamoeba histolytica.
consider also Naegleria fowleri and related species, and Acanthamoeba spp.
>C- Classification
> 1- Both are in:
> a- Kingdom Protista
> b- Subkingdom Protozoa
> c- Phylum Sarcomastigophora
> 2- Entamoeba histolytica
> a- Subphylum Sarcodina (Amoebas)
> 3- Giardia
> a- Subphylum Mastigophora (Flagellates)
this is the 1980s "received" zoological classification, now known to be
in error. Both -Giardia- and -Entamoeba- lack mitochondria, and at least
in the case of -Giardia- this absence of mitochondria is thought to be
ancestral (i.e. they never had any). Hence -Giardia- and -Entamoeba- may
be more closely related to each other than -Giardia- is to any other
flagellates (except other members of the "diplomonad" group to which it
belongs) and -Entamoeba- is to any other amoeba.
for a more refined, though still very very "buggy" and controversial,
classification, see:
Cavalier-Smith T. 1993. Microbiological Reviews 57: 953.
a hint of the developing structure of protist classification may be obtained
online via the various pages of the Protist Image Database, http://megasun.
bch.umontreal.ca/protists/protists.html.
[snip]
>E- Both are geneally passed on through the water supply, infected
>generally through feces.
also soils and anything (like fresh veggies) washed in unclean water.
charley o'kelly
mad protistologist
okellyc at bch.umontreal.caokellycj at nh.ngs.net
