![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Phytomyxea_collage.jpg/640px-Phytomyxea_collage.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Maullinia
Genus of intracellular parasites / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Maullinia?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Maullinia is a genus of intracellular, phytomyxid parasites found across the Southern Hemisphere though primarily in Chile, The Prince Edward Islands, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.[1][2][3][4][5] These parasites infiltrate the cells of their brown algal hosts via cytoplasmic extensions called plasmodia that divide synchronously,[1] becoming increasingly multi-nucleate and engulfing the host cell organelles as they grow.[1][3] Eventually, as the plasmodia fill the entire cell volume, the host cells become hypertrophied and grow to 3- 4x their original size,[2] showing up as swollen appendages or galls on the host tissue at a macroscopic level.[1][3] These swollen regions will burst alongside the mature Maullinia plasmodia, releasing biflagellated zoospores to the inter- and extracellular space to disperse the infection further.[6] Zoospores can come from sporangial plasmodia,[1] as in M. ectocarpii, or from resting spores, as in M. braseltonii.[3]
Maullinia | |
---|---|
![]() | |
E: Resting spores of Maullinia sp. resting spores in Durvillaea antarctica | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
Clade: | SAR |
Phylum: | Endomyxa |
Class: | Phytomyxea |
Order: | Phagomyxida |
Family: | Phagomyxidae |
Genus: | Maullinia I. Maier, E. R. Parodi, R. Wester-meier et D. G. Müller 2000 |
As Maullinia can infect a wide range commercially important brown algal hosts, they present a significant threat to kelp farming and mariculture efforts.[1] These infections could also cause significant harm on a global scale to natural populations, as they are able to disperse over long distances via rafting and tend to thrive in the cooler waters where kelp are often found.[4][5]