Smith T G
Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
J Parasitol. 1996 Aug;82(4):565-85.
Hemogregarines of the genus Hepatozoon are intraerythrocytic apicomplexan parasites that have been described from all groups of tetrapod vertebrates. Gametogenesis, fertilization, and sporogonic development, which culminates in the formation of polysporocystic oocysts, occur in the gut or hemocoel of a hematophagous arthropod definitive host. Merogonic development occurs in the internal organs of vertebrate hosts after they ingest these infected arthropods. The presence of cystic stages, observed for many Hepatozoon species, increases life cycle complexity and exploits the feeding behavior of vertebrate hosts. The inconsistency of morphological characteristics of these parasites, especially those associated with gamont structure, coupled with low host specificity of the parasites for their invertebrate and vertebrate hosts, have rendered species differentiation difficult. A systematic review of the hemogregarine complex has resulted in the expansion of the genus Hepatozoon to include all members of the genus Haemogregarina that infect amphibians, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, birds, and mammals.
肝簇虫属的血簇虫是红细胞内的顶复门寄生虫，已在所有四足脊椎动物类群中被描述。配子发生、受精和孢子生殖发育（最终形成多囊卵囊）发生在吸血节肢动物终末宿主的肠道或血腔中。裂体生殖发育在脊椎动物宿主摄入这些受感染的节肢动物后，于其内脏器官中发生。许多肝簇虫物种中观察到的包囊阶段的存在，增加了生命周期的复杂性，并利用了脊椎动物宿主的摄食行为。这些寄生虫形态特征的不一致，尤其是与滋养体结构相关的特征，再加上寄生虫对其无脊椎动物和脊椎动物宿主的低宿主特异性，使得物种区分变得困难。对血簇虫复合体的系统综述导致肝簇虫属的扩展，以包括感染两栖动物、蛇、蜥蜴、鳄鱼、鸟类和哺乳动物的血簇虫属的所有成员。
