Angomonas deanei (original) (raw)

Angomonas deanei is a flagellated trypanosomatid protozoan. As an obligate parasite, it infects the gastrointestinal tract of insects, and is in turn a host to symbiotic bacteria. The bacterial endosymbiont maintains a permanent mutualistic relationship with the protozoan such that it is no longer able to reproduce and survive on its own. The symbiosis, subsequently also discovered in varying degrees in other protists such as Strigomonas culicis, Novymonas esmeraldas, Diplonema japonicum and Diplonema aggregatum are considered as good models for the understanding of the evolution of eukaryotes from prokaryotes, and on the origin of cell organelles (i.e. symbiogenesis).