He isolated the parasite from the ceratopogonid fly Dasyhelea obscura, and named the species Helicosporidium parasiticum.

Helicosporidium infections, although rare, have been discovered around the world and in a diverse range of host organisms.

[5] The unique morphology of Helicosporidium has made it easy to identify, but difficult to classify.

It was not until molecular phylogenetics demonstrated that Helicosporidium was a relative of the green algae that had lost its plastids and thus the ability to perform photosynthesis.

[5] The key morphological feature of Helicosporidium is the presence of four-celled structures, termed cysts (also known as spores in the older literature).

The plastid genome is very small (about 37.5 kilo-base pairs long); it lacks all genes that code for proteins that function in photosynthesis, but also has very little non-coding DNA.