Trichomonadida

Trichomonadida is an order of anaerobic protists, included with the parabasalids. Members of this order are referred to as trichomonads.

Some organisms in this order include:

• Trichomonas vaginalis , an organism living inside the vagina of humans
• Dientamoeba fragilis , parasitic ameboid in humans
• Histomonas meleagridis , parasite that causes blackhead disease in poultry
• Mixotricha paradoxa , a symbiotic organism inside termites, host of endosymbionts

Species in this order typically have four to six flagella at the cell's apical pole, one of which is recurrent - that is, it runs along a surface wave, giving the aspect of an undulating membrane. Like other parabasalids, they typically have an axostyle, a pelta, a costa, and parabasal bodies. In Histomonas only one flagellum and a reduced axostyle are found, and in Dientamoeba , both are absent.

Most species are either parasites or other endosymbionts of animals.

Trichomonads reproduce by a special form of longitudinal fission, leading to large numbers of trophozoites in a relatively short time. Cysts never form, so transmission from one host to another is always based on direct contact between the sites they occupy.^[1]

The preferred treatment for trichomonad infection is metronidazole.^[2]

• General info

• Metamonads

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles with 'species' microformats