Retortamonas
unicellular organism
Retortamonas is a genus of flagellated excavates. It is one of only two genera belonging to the family Retortamonadidae along with the genus Chilomastix. The genus parasitizes a large range of hosts including humans. Species within this genus are considered harmless commensals which reside in the intestine of their host. The wide host diversity is a useful factor given that species are distinguished based on their host rather than morphology. This is because all species share similar morphology, which would present challenges when trying to make classifications based on structural anatomy. Although Retortamonas currently includes over 25 known species, it is possible that some defined species are synonymous, given that such overlapping species have been discovered in the past. Further efforts into learning about this genus must be done such as cross-transmission testing as well as biochemical and genetic studies. One of the most well-known species within this genus is Retortamonas intestinalis, a human parasite that lives in the large intestine of humans.
Etymology
Retort- is derived from the Latin re-torqueo – “to twist back” while the Greek term monas- “one unit, single” refers to its singularity.
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This entry incorporates text from “Retortamonas” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.