Acanthamoeba isolates belonging to T1, T2, T3, T4 and T7 genotypes from environmental freshwater samples in the Nile Delta region, Egypt.
The free-living amoebae of the genus Acanthamoeba include non-pathogenic and pathogenic species and has been recently classified into 15 different genotypes, T1-T15. In this study, a survey was conducted in order to determine the presence and pathogenic potential of free-living amoebae of Acanthamoeba genus in freshwater sources associated with human activities in the Nile Delta region, Egypt. Identification of Acanthamoeba was based on the morphology of cyst and trophozoite forms and PCR amplification with a genus specific primer pair. The pathogenic potential of Acanthamoeba isolates was characterized using temperature and osmotolerance assays and PCR reactions with two primer pairs specific to Acanthamoeba pathogenesis. Isolates genotypes were also determined after ribosomal DNA sequencing. These data revealed that isolates belong to T1, T2, T3, T4 and T7 genotypes. As expected, T4 isolates exhibited the most pathogenic traits and were osmotolerant, temperature tolerant and expressed extracellular serine proteases. This is the first report presenting environmental distribution of Acanthamoeba genotypes in Egypt.
Lorenzo-Morales
Jacob
J
Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, University of La Laguna, Av Astrofísico Fco Sánchez s/n, 38203 La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain.
Ortega-Rivas
Antonio
A
Martínez
Enrique
E
Khoubbane
Messaoud
M
Artigas
Patricio
P
Periago
María Victoria
MV
Foronda
Pilar
P
Abreu-Acosta
Néstor
N
Valladares
Basilio
B
Mas-Coma
Santiago
S
D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D000818:Animals; D004534:Egypt; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000469:parasitology*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011634:Public Health; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D013696:Temperature; D014881:Water Supply
D012697:Serine Endopeptidases