title: Studies on coccidian oocysts (Apicomplexa: Eucoccidiorida).
abstract: The oocysts of the coccidia are robust structures, frequently isolated from the feces or urine of their hosts, which provide resistance to mechanical damage and allow the parasites to survive and remain infective for prolonged periods. The diagnosis of coccidiosis, species description and systematics, are all dependent upon characterization of the oocyst. Therefore, this review aimed to the provide a critical overview of the methodologies, advantages and limitations of the currently available morphological, morphometrical and molecular biology based approaches that may be utilized for characterization of these important structures. It has become apparent that no single methodology is sufficient to fully characterize these structures and the majority of researchers favor the use of combinational or polyphasic approaches.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro ? UFRRJ, Seropédica, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Bruno Pereira
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Berto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia Animal, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro ? UFRRJ, Seropédica, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia Animal, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro ? UFRRJ, Seropédica, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Carlos Wilson Gomes
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Lopes
mesh_terms: D016782:Apicomplexa / Q000166:cytology*; D033661:Oocysts / Q000166:cytology*