Apicomplexan life cycles. Members of the Apicomplexa share a generalized life cycle, though each species has its own specializations. Plasmodium spp. and Theileria spp. are transmitted and undergo sexual recombination in an insect vector, the Anopheles mosquito and Rhipicephalus tick, respectively. Cryptosporidium is able to autoinfect its host; the oocyst can sporulate and excyst in the same host, maintaining the infection for months to years. The Coccidian parasites are represented in this figure by Toxoplasma, which is able to infect the majority of warm-blooded animals. The differentiation of Toxoplasma tachyzoites into gametocytes is triggered only when members of the cat family (Felidae) are infected. The molecular basis for this regulation is not yet known. The intermediate and definitive host spectrum for each species under consideration in this study are given in Table 1.
