Which one of the following protozoan parasites belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa?
IIT JAM - 2018,
Answer: A
The apicomplexan parasite is Toxoplasma gondii.
Apicomplexa are obligate intracellular parasites named after the apical complex, a group of organelles at one end of the cell used to invade host cells. The phylum also includes Plasmodium (malaria) and Cryptosporidium.
The others belong to different groups. Leishmania donovani, the cause of kala-azar, is a flagellated kinetoplastid. Entamoeba histolytica is an amoeba that moves by pseudopodia. Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellate (a parabasalid). None of them has an apical complex.
Please log in or register to report this question.