title: In vitro culture, serologic and molecular analysis of Acanthamoeba isolated from the liver of a keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus).
abstract: Members of the genus Acanthamoeba are usually free-living amebae and are found in a variety of ecological niches including soil, fresh and brackish water, dust in air, filters of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning units, swimming pools and hot tubs, etc. Occasionally, they are also known to cause central nervous system infections in humans and other animals. We isolated into culture an amoeba from the liver tissue of a keel-billed toucan and identified it as Acanthamoeba sp. based on culture characteristics and immunofluorescent analysis. Further, we characterized the cultured amoeba and also the amoeba in the liver tissue as Acanthamoeba, genotype T4, by sequencing a diagnostic region of the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA gene.
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA. gsv1@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Govinda S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Visvesvara
authors.forename: Gregory C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Booton
authors.forename: Darryl J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kelley
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fuerst
authors.forename: Rama
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sriram
authors.forename: Ariana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Finkelstein
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Garner
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D001717:Birds; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008101:Liver Abscess, Amebic / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal