Diplomonadida

1
Diplomonadida
Jared Morris
Giardia (left)

• Key Features
• Group of Flagellates and are usually parasitic
• Usually have two nuclei
• Lack both Mitochondria and Golgi Apparatus

• Life Cycle
• Oral uptake of cysts after fecal contamination
  of food.
• Trophozoites exist in small intestine and may
  divide by binary fission
• Trophozoites are attached to the surface of
  intestinal villi pinocytosis occurs at their
  dorsal side
• Free trophozoites encyst in the intestine and are
  passed in feces.

• Interesting facts
• Lacks a mitochondria but they have genes that
  once coded for the synthesis of mitochondria.
• Giardia is a believed to be one of the first
  eukaryotes
• Giardia lamblia causes giardiasis, a rather nasty
  infection of the small intestine.

Giardiasis