title: Cellular, biochemical, and molecular changes during encystment of free-living amoebae.
abstract: Free-living amoebae are protozoa found in soil and water. Among them, some are pathogenic and many have been described as potential reservoirs of pathogenic bacteria. Their cell cycle is divided into at least two forms, the trophozoite and the cyst, and the differentiation process is named encystment. As cysts are more resistant to disinfection treatments than trophozoites, many studies focused on encystment, but until recently, little was known about cellular, biochemical, and molecular modifications operating during this process. Important signals and signaling pathways at play during encystment, as well as cell responses at the molecular level, have been described. This review summarizes our knowledge and focuses on new findings.
authors.affiliation: Université de Poitiers, CNRS UMR 7267, Laboratoire Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Equipe Microbiologie de l’Eau, Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fouque
authors.forename: Marie-Cécile
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Trouilhé
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hartemann
authors.forename: Marie-Hélène
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rodier
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Héchard
mesh_terms: D000656:Amoeba / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D053058:Trophozoites / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases