title: Parasitism by a protozoan in the hemolymph of the giant clam, Tridacna crocea.
abstract: A parasitism by a protozoan was found in the giant clam, Tridacna crocea. The parasites were spindle-shaped, 8.6 +/- 0.5 micro m in length and 2.5 +/- 0.3 micro m in width. Structural features of the apical complex of the parasite and a molecular phylogenetic analysis of its 18S rRNA gene sequence indicate that the protozoan belongs to the Apicomplexa. No flagellum was observed in the parasitic protozoan. It infected the eosinophilic granular hemocyte, one of the three types of hemocytes in the clam hemolymph, but it is not known whether it influenced the growth of the clam.
authors.affiliation: Marine Biotechnology Institute, Shimizu Laboratories, Shizuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishijima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maruyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016782:Apicomplexa / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000469:parasitology*; D006458:Hemolymph / Q000469:parasitology; D016053:RNA, Protozoan; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA
chemical_list: D016053:RNA, Protozoan; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S