Pythium insidiosum: Difference between revisions

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''Pythium insidiosum''
''Pythium insidiosum''
=Description and Significance=
“Pythium insidiosum” is a pathogenic species of water mold (oomycete) that infects humans and animals, primarily horses, cattle, dogs, and cats [[#References |[2]]]. This microorganism is usually found in wet, swampy areas with dense vegetation [[#References |[2]]]. Exposure to this organism occurs via contact with the water in which it lives as well as plants it is living on. Infection by this pathogen leads to a disease called Pythiosis, which is characterized by large lesions on the skin and in tissues such as the gastrointestinal tract; it also has a high mortality rate [[#References |[3]]]. The issue of high mortality makes this pathogen a public health concern because infection advances quickly once it occurs; thus, early detection is crucial. P. insidiosum is well adapted to invading and thriving in its mammalian and plant host’s tissues; its life cycle and motile zoospores increase its pathogenicity as well as the rate at which infection progresses. To address this issue, substantial research has been conducted on early detection methods using polymerase chain reaction, antigen identification, and other molecular and serological assay techniques [[#References |[2]]] [[#References |[4]]] [[#References |[5]]].


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Revision as of 07:50, 10 December 2014

This student page has not been curated.

Classification

Higher order taxa

Eukaryota; Stramenopiles; Oomycetes; Pythiales; Pythiaceae; Pythium

Species

NCBI: [1]

Pythium insidiosum

Description and Significance

“Pythium insidiosum” is a pathogenic species of water mold (oomycete) that infects humans and animals, primarily horses, cattle, dogs, and cats [2]. This microorganism is usually found in wet, swampy areas with dense vegetation [2]. Exposure to this organism occurs via contact with the water in which it lives as well as plants it is living on. Infection by this pathogen leads to a disease called Pythiosis, which is characterized by large lesions on the skin and in tissues such as the gastrointestinal tract; it also has a high mortality rate [3]. The issue of high mortality makes this pathogen a public health concern because infection advances quickly once it occurs; thus, early detection is crucial. P. insidiosum is well adapted to invading and thriving in its mammalian and plant host’s tissues; its life cycle and motile zoospores increase its pathogenicity as well as the rate at which infection progresses. To address this issue, substantial research has been conducted on early detection methods using polymerase chain reaction, antigen identification, and other molecular and serological assay techniques [2] [4] [5].




Edited by [Lindsay Smith], student of Jennifer Talbot for BI 311 General Microbiology, 2014, Boston University.