Microsporidae

Microsporidia are a group of single-celled parasites that live inside the bodies of insects, reptiles, fish and some amphibians. Their small size determines the primitiveness of their organization. Microsporidia belong to the kingdom Mycota (fungus-like organisms). Representatives of this kingdom are of taxonomic interest: microsporidia represent virtually the bottom rung in the evolutionary ladder of fungi. At the early stage of development of asexual reproduction of microsporidia, rapid reproduction was observed under the autospore, a small elongated multinucleate formation. But it soon stopped until a new “awakening” occurred, characteristic of the infectious stage of the microsporidia life cycle. Infection with it can lead to blindness. Microsporids, despite their extremely low morphological fitness, have an amazing ability to adapt to host microorganisms, but even this adaptation most often leads to infection of the insect body with subsequent degeneration from the very beginning of the life cycle. This is typical not only for parasitic microsporidia of the genus Encephalitozoon, but also for some non-parasitic representatives - for example, Sporobolomyces salmonicolor, which infects juvenile salmon and carp fish species, as well as for some microscopic fungi of the genera Phycomyces and Rhizomucor, which usually reproduce by budding. In the life cycle of some actinomycete-like organisms, chemical intracellular prophylaxis develops, which allows them to be facultative parasites. Others are more adapted to insemination: the bacterium of free-living microspores Fahrenholzia ellipsoides also has the peculiarity of retaining the genitals during the wintering stage of its life cycle and existing for a long time outside the host’s body. At the same time, it adapts so strongly to the environment and the biology of the host organism that when it moves to the next stage or the next passage in the body, it can become a parasite or switch to a free lifestyle. So micro