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. 2009 Apr;8(4):446-60.
doi: 10.1128/EC.00309-08. Epub 2009 Jan 23.

Pneumocystis workshop: 10th anniversary summary

Affiliations

Pneumocystis workshop: 10th anniversary summary

James M Beck et al. Eukaryot Cell. 2009 Apr.
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
P. carinii asci/cyst forms stained with methenamine silver. Black objects are P. murina asci/cysts. Host tissue is counterstained green.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Pneumocystis carinii trophic and cyst forms. Touch preparation of an infected rat lung stained with a rapid variant of the Wright-Giemsa stain. Black arrows, asci/cysts; white arrows, trophic forms.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
Putative life cycle of Pneumocystis. (i) Infection. The agent of infection is suspected to be airborne spores, but these have not been identified. (ii) Asexual phase. Haploid trophic forms replicate asexually by binary fission. (iii) Sexual phase. Two presumptive mating types conjugate, undergo karyogamy, and produce a diploid zygote, which progresses through meiosis and then an additional mitosis to produce eight nuclei. The nuclei are packaged into spores by invagination of the ascus cell membranes. After completion, excystment occurs via protunicate release by unknown mechanisms. The released spores become the vegetative forms that can then undergo asexual or sexual replication.

References

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MeSH terms