Question

(a) How do Leishmania and Plasmodium reproduce?; (b) State one difference in their mode of reproduction.(All India - 2013)

Answer 1

1. leishmania reproduce by binary fission
2. plasmodium reproduce by multiple fission
3. leishmania divides into two equal halves during binary fission
4. plasmodium divides into many daughter cells while doing multiple fission

Answer 2

Answer:

Parasitic protozoa of the genus Leishmania (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) are generally thought to multiply by binary fission; however, data from quantitative microspectrophotometry indicate that nuclear fusion or sexual reproduction takes place in the intracellular amastigote form.