Parasite is Actually a Micro Jellyfish with a Stinger
A parasite may actually be micro jellyfish. Scientists have made a new discovery that may redefine how scientists interpret what it means to be an animal.
In this latest study, the researchers conducted genome sequencing on myxozoans, which are a diverse group of microscopic parasites that infect invertebrate and vertebrate hosts. This sequencing revealed that the "parasites" are actually "highly reduced" cnidarians, a phylum that includes jellyfish, corals and sea anemones.
"This is a remarkable case of extreme degeneration of an animal body plan," said Paulyn Cartwright, one of the researchers, in a news release. "First, we confirmed they're cnidarians. Now, we need to investigate how they got to be that way."
The parasitic micro jellyfish has a stripped-down body plan of just a few cells, and its genome is also drastically simplified. Interestingly, though, the micro jellyfish retained the essential stinger, the nematocyst, along with the genes needed to make it.
"Because they're so weird, it's difficult to imagine they were jellyfish," said Cartwright. "They don't have a mouth or gut. They have just a few cells. But then they have this complex structure that looks just like singing cells of cnidarian. Jellyfish tentacles are loaded with them-little firing weapons."
The findings call into question what an animal is and what a parasite is. Because the myxozoans are cnidarians, scientists now need to re-classify them into the phylum Cnidaria.
Currently, the researchers hope to learn a bit more about how these animals became so small. They plan to look at the dramatic changeover from macroscopic marine animal to microscopic parasite.
The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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