Parasites and Parasitology - How it works



Symbiosis

Parasitism belongs within the context of symbiosis, a term for a biological relationship in which two species live in close proximity to each other and interact regularly in such a way as to benefit one or both of the organisms. In addition to the symbiosis of two species (that is, at least two individuals representing two different species), it is also possible for a symbiotic relationship to exist between two organisms of the same species. Organisms engaging in symbiotic relationships are called symbionts.

There are three basic types of symbiosis, differentiated as to how the benefits (and the detriments, if any) are distributed. In the case of parasitism, of course, the arrangement benefits only one of the two: the parasite, an organism that obtains nourishment or other life support at the expense of the host. Though predation (the relationship of predator to prey) is technically a form of symbiosis, it usually is not considered in the context of symbiotic relationships; therefore, parasitism is really the only variety of symbiosis that is detrimental to one of the organisms. Unlike the predator killing its prey, however, the parasite allows its host to live as long as possible, since it depends on the host for support and sustenance.

A second type of symbiosis, commensalism, likewise involves a benefit to only one of the two organisms, but in commensalism the beneficiary, or commensal, manages to receive its benefits without causing any detriment to the host. The other variety of symbiosis is mutualism, an arrangement from which both partners receive benefits. (Commensalism and mutualism, along with the overall concept of symbiosis, are discussed at much greater length in Symbiosis.)

In addition to the distinctions among parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism, symbiotic relationships are distinguished according to the participants' ability to live without each other. In a facultative relationship, the partners can live apart successfully, whereas in an obligate one, the interacting species are incapable of living separately. Needless to say, for most parasites the relationship is obligate, whereas from the host's viewpoint, the arrangement is more than facultative: not only could the host live without the parasite, but it actually would be better off without the tiny hanger-on.

Defining the Limits of Parasitology

The realm of parasitism and parasitic creatures is far larger and more varied than that of parasitology. In other words, the range of organisms that exhibit parasitic behavior is much greater than the variety of species that are considered within the realm of parasitological study. Among the parasitic species excluded from ordinary parasitology are two named in the title of a book in the bibliography at the end of this essay: Despicable Species: On Cowbirds, Kudzu, Hornworms, and Other Scourges, by Janet Lembke.

The cowbird is a species that exploits the instinctive tendency of other birds to care for their young. Rather than raise its offspring, it leaves its eggs with other birds, which mistake the eggs for their own and provide them with food and care. Meanwhile, the adult cowbird goes on about its business, freed from the responsibility of raising its own progeny. (See Instinct and Learning for more on this subject.)

Kudzu is a plant that grows at an amazing rate, covering hillsides and virtually every surface to which it can attach itself. During the 1930s agricultural officials in the American South advocated the planting of kudzu, imported from China, as a means of controlling erosion on hillsides. The plant did help control erosion, but it virtually took over parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and neighboring states. Only through successful, or at least partially successful, eradication campaigns did county and state governments, as well as private landowners, manage to stem the tide of kudzu's onslaught.

Cowbirds are clearly parasitic in their behavior, and kudzu is unquestionably a pest in plant form (i.e., a weed), but this does not truly make them parasites in the sense that parasitologists use the term. Nor, as we noted earlier, does the capacity to cause or carry disease necessarily define a parasite, though many parasites (known collectively as pathogens) do carry diseases. And even though many species of viruses, bacteria, and fungi exhibit parasitic behavior and can be transmitted by parasites, scientists usually study them separately in the context of infectious diseases.

PROTOZOA, WORMS, AND ARTHROPODS.

After making all the exclusions indicated in the foregoing paragraph, the species studied within the realm of parasitology are only those creatures within certain phyla from two kingdoms: animals and protists. The latter category, which includes algae (other than blue-green algae), slime molds, and protozoa, is made up primarily of unicellular, eukaryotic organisms. (A eukaryote is a cell that has a nucleus, as well as organelles, or sections of the cell that perform specific functions, enclosed in membranes.)

Among protists, of principal concern is protozoa, which, unlike other protists, are capable of moving on their own. All the species we discuss in the remainder of this essay fall into one of three general categories: protozoa, worms, and arthropods, the latter two being groups of creatures within the animal kingdom.

The Taxonomy of Worms and Arthropods

Taxonomy, or the area of the biological sciences devoted to the classification of species, is an exceedingly complex area of study. Within that realm, there are numerous matters that either are or have been areas of dispute, among them the classification of protozoa as protists rather than animals. Owing to differences between taxonomic systems and the complications involved in explaining the characteristics that unify members of particular phyla (the next-largest major taxonomic ranking after kingdom), we will dispense with any effort to delineate classifications of species rigorously.

In other words, we will take a much simpler approach, a fact signaled by the use of the very general word worm. Whereas arthropods are a genuine phylum whose characteristics we examine shortly, worms is simply a broad term that encompasses numerous phyla: Platyhelminthes (flatworms), Nemertea (or Rhynchocoela, ribbon worms), Acanthocephala (spiny-headed worms), Aschelminthes, Priapulida (priapulids), and Annelida (annelid worms).

The classification of the many species of worm serves to illustrate just how complex a subject taxonomy can be. The group Aschelminthes, for example, is divided into five classes—Rotifera, Gastrotricha, Kinorhyncha, Nematoda, and Nematomorpha—that sometimes are treated as separate phyla. Yet another classification system groups the worms into phyla completely different from the ones named here. Therefore, rather than hopelessly confusing the issue, in the present context we will call them all simply worms and not attempt to map the complex relationships between the species that fall under that heading.

ARTHROPODS.

In contrast to worms, arthropods, or members of the phylum Arthropoda, are much easier to identify. Arthropoda is the largest phylum in the animal kingdom, accounting for some 84% of all known animal species. Nearly 900,000 arthropod species have been identified, the vast majority of them being insects, but some zoologists maintain that this number represents but a tiny fraction of all species within this enormous phylum. In fact, there may be as many as ten million species of insect alone.

Arthropods are identified by a nonliving exoskeleton (an external skeleton), by segmented bodies, and by jointed appendages in pairs. The four subphyla of phylum Arthropoda are Trilobita, Crustacea, Chelicerata, and Uniramia. The first of these subphyla became extinct during the "Great Dying" that marked the end of the Permian period some 245 million years ago. (See Paleontology for more on this subject.) The second includes numerous organisms that humans eat, such as crabs and shrimp, as well as a few parasitic species. The most familiar parasites, however, belong to the other two subphyla. Within Chelicerata, by far the largest class is Arachnida, whose name might be familiar from that of the 1990 horror film about spiders, Arachnophobia. In addition to spiders, Arachnida includes scorpions, ticks, and mites, among which are many parasitic creatures.

Finally, there is subphylum Uniramia, which includes several classes, such as Chilopoda and Diplopoda (centipedes and millipedes, respectively); the largest class is unquestionably Insecta. In the latter group are some of the most obnoxious creatures known, including the genera Anopheles (mosquitoes), Glossina (tsetse fly), and Climex (bedbugs) as well as the species Periplaneta americana (American cockroach), Phthirus pubis (pubic or crab louse), and Tunga penetrans (sand flea).

Parasite Homes and Life Cycles

Most insects are ectoparasites, or parasites that live outside a host's body, whereas protozoa and worms are endoparasites, or parasites that live inside a host's body. As we shall see, insects are often vectors, or organisms that transmit pathogens, meaning that they serve as a delivery vehicle for the disease-causing protozoa and worms. Because endoparasites interact with the bodies of their hosts in much more complex ways, we devote more space to those species.

In general, the life cycle of most worms begins in the body of a definitive host, a host that provides a setting for the sexual reproduction of parasites. (For most of the parasites we consider, humans are the definitive host.) The parasite's eggs pass from the body of the definitive host, usually through the feces, and hatch in an inorganic medium, typically water. From there, the parasites enter the body of either a vector or an intermediate host. The latter is defined by the fact that sexual reproduction of parasites does not take place in its body; for the parasites to reproduce sexually, they must enter the body of a definitive host, where the cycle begins again. There may be more than one intermediate host, and they are identified, respectively, as first intermediate host, second intermediate host, and so on.

For protozoa the life cycle is much as we have described; however, the concept of a definitive host, as we have defined it, does not usually enter in, since protozoa reproduce asexually. Nonetheless, they typically begin life in the intestinal tracts or other organs of a host, pass through the feces into the water supply, and enter the body either of a vector or a new host.



User Contributions:

It is not also in all organisms which can reproduce sexually that sexual reproduction can be used to determine a definitive host of a parasite. For instance in Plasmodium spp., man is considered as the definitive host meanwhile sexual reproduction occurs in mosqueto. Though controversial, but many people accept man. It's therefore generally believed that, definitive host is the one where disease symptoms occur.

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