Malaria is a disease caused by a tiny, eukaryotic organism called Plasmodium malariae. Plasmodium malariae can enter a human cell and use that cell as a host. The tiny organism takes up a large portion of its host cell and uses nutrients from the cell for its own life processes.

Which of these terms best describes Plasmodium malariae?

A.
parasite
B.
virus
C.
producer
D.
bacterium