title: Isolation and genotyping of acanthamoeba strains from environmental sources in ahvaz city, khuzestan province, southern iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acanthamoeba spp. are free-living amoebae commonly found in the environmental sources such as water, soil, and air. This ubiquitous amoeba is the causative agent of amoebic keratitis (AK). The objective of the present study was to investigate the presence of Acanthamoeba spp. in water and soil sources in Ahvaz City, Khuzestan Province, southern Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  In general, 110 samples of water and soil were taken from different localities of Ahvaz including agricultural canals, rivers, and swimming pools. Filtration and cultivation were carried out on non-nutrient agar medium (NNA). Axenic cultivation was performed for all of positive isolates. PCR analysis was conducted on positive samples. Sequencing was done for 15 PCR products. Genotypes were identified by Blast search and homology analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Acanthamoeba spp. was found in 43 (71.6%) of samples of water and 13 (26%) soil samples. Genotyping of 15 samples proved that Acanthamoeba belonged to T4 (86.6%), T2 (6.6%), and T5 (6.6%) genotypes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TYI-S-33 medium could be better than PYG medium for Acanthamoeba axenic culture.
authors: Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Tropical and Infectious Diseases Research Center & Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz JundiShapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Rahdar
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Niyyati
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Salehi
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Feghhi
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Makvandi
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Pourmehdi
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Farnia
keywords: Acanthamoeba spp.; Iran; Soil; TYI-S-33; Water