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Microsporidia are important primary pathogens of insects. The smallest of eukaryotes, with unicellular spores and no mitochondria, they are obligate intracellular parasites. The taxonomic status of this group is problematic from the species level to the phylum level. Traditionally considered to be Protozoa, several current studies of various gene sequences closely align the microsporidia with primitive fungi.
Microsporidia can be either uninucleate or binucleate (diplokaryotic); some species have one or two or more nuclei in different life stages. Reproduction may be asexual, sexual, or both, depending on the species, and life cycles range from simple to very complex. Some species require intermediate hosts, and some may have multiple cycles of sporulation and multiple spore types, probably with different functions including autoinfection (cell-to-cell and tissue-to-tissue transmission within a host).
Source
[1] (http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cee/biocontrol/pathogens/typesofpathogens/microsporidia.html) Midwest Institute for Biological Control, 2004
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