| Bonamia sp. is a pathogenic parasite that occurs in the haemocytes of dredge oysters Ostrea chilensis Philippi in New Zealand, Ultrastructurally it resembles other haplosporidians in the possession of haplosporosomes, haplosporogenesis, persistence of mitotic microtubules during interphase and of the nuclear envelope during mitosis, and occurrence of a diplokaryotic or multi-nucleate plasmodial stage. Another stage containing a large vacuole derived from enlargement of 1 or more mitochondria has not previously been described from other haplosporidians. It most closely resembles B, ostreae Pichot et al., 1979, which parasitises and is pathogenic in haemocytes of European flat oysters, O. edulis. However, B. ostreae is smaller and denser, and has fewer... |
