首次在昆虫的精囊内发现疟原虫（孢子虫纲）。

Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Dipartimento Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy.

Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 14;7(1):175. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-00289-3.

Gregarines (Apicomplexa) are a diverse group of protozoan parasites, which infects gut and other body cavities of invertebrate hosts. In reproductive system of insects, gregarine has been reported only in the accessory glands and spermathecae of females; therefore, this is the first report of a gregarine species in seminal vesicles of insects. Different developmental stages, including sporozoytes, oocysts and trophozoites were described from morphological descriptions using light and electron transmission microscopy. The parasites were described in seminal vesicles of the beetle Tribolium castaneum a model organism and an important insect pest. DNA sequence analysis suggests that the protozoan parasite was an Ascogregarina sp.

球虫（孢子虫纲）是一类多样的原生动物寄生虫，感染无脊椎动物宿主的肠道和其他体腔。在昆虫的生殖系统中，仅在雌性的附腺和受精囊中报道过球虫；因此，这是首次在昆虫的精囊中报告球虫种类。使用光和电子透射显微镜进行形态描述，描述了不同的发育阶段，包括孢子、卵囊和滋养体。这些寄生虫被描述为模式生物和重要的农业害虫——赤拟谷盗的精囊中。DNA 序列分析表明，原生动物寄生虫是一种似阿斯科格氏球虫。