Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites, stained with Giemsa, from a smear of peritoneal fluid obtained from a mouse inoculated with T. gondii. Tachyzoites are typically crescent shaped with a prominent, centrally placed nucleus. Photo credit: DPDx Image Library, via Wikimedia Commons. This image is a work of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, taken or made as part of an employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

The genome sequence and gene models of Toxoplasma gondii were not determined by the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), but were downloaded from NCBI on May 28, 2018. In order to allow comparative analyses with other genomes sequenced by the JGI, a copy of this genome is incorporated into the JGI Genome Portal. JGI tools were used to automatically annotate predicted proteins. Please note that this copy of the genome is not maintained by NCBI and is therefore not automatically updated.

The following text comes from NCBI Genome:

Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite member of the phylum Apicomplexa, and an obligate intracellular pathogen that is the causal agent of Toxoplasmosis in humans. Of particular concern are women of childbearing age who have not acquired immunity against this parasite since it can be transmitted via placenta to the fetus (congenital toxoplasmosis). The consequences of congenital toxoplasmosis range from mild to severe to fatal and include: mental retardation, seizures, blindness and death.T. gondii is highly amenable to experimental manipulation in the laboratory, and serves as a model system for genetic exploration of parasite biology and host-parasite interactions. This organism has been successfully used in transformation studies with genes from the closely related apicomplexan relative Plasmodium falciparum. Such functional studies are of crucial importance in the authentication of gene function.