Taxonomy
P. marinus are protozoa, and in particular belong to a group called the alveolates. The individual cells have two flagella, and have a partial polar ring used to attach to their hosts at the anterior. This is similar to structures found among the Apicomplexa, and Perkinsus was previously classified with them. However, genetic studies show that P. marinus is probably closer to the dinoflagellates, which also appear to have modified polar rings. If Perkinsus is a dinoflagellate, it is a basal one.
The genome project of P. marinus, funded by NSF-USDA, was released in 2010 from The Institute for Genomic Research in collaboration with The Center of Marine Biotechnology of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. Currently (2010), no associated journal article can be found on PubMed. It is unusual that genome projects complete without a publication being associated.
The type species of the genus is Perkinsus marinus .
The closest relation to Perkinsus is the genus Parvilucifera. These form a sister group to the dinoflagellates.
The genus Colpodella forms a sister clade to the Apicomplexia.
Read more about this topic: Perkinsus Marinus