title: Acanthamoeba and other free-living amoebae in bat guano, an extreme habitat.
abstract: Several representatives of the so-called free-living amoebae (FLA) are of medical relevance, not only as facultative pathogens but also as vehicles for pathogenic bacteria. Some FLA can survive and even grow under extreme environmental conditions. Bat guano is an exceptional habitat, the conditions becoming gradually more extreme with aging. In the current study, samples of bat guano of different ages from five caves in Slovenia were screened for the presence of FLA. FLA were isolated from almost all guano samples, including guano with a pH of 3.5. Only the two samples that had been drawn from >20-year-old guano were negative for FLA. Generally, FLA diversity correlated to high concentrations of cultivable bacteria (∼10(8) CFU/g) and fungi (∼10(5) CFU/g). Interestingly, the absence of FLA in seasoned guanos was mirrored by the presence of dictyostelid slime moulds. The isolated amoebae were identified as belonging to the genera Acanthamoeba, Copromyxa, Naegleria, Sappinia, Tetramitus, Thecamoeba, Vahlkampfia, Vannella and Vermamoeba. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the diversity of FLA in guano.
authors.affiliation: Karst Research Institute, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Titov trg 2, Postojna, Sl-6230, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Janez
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mulec
authors.affiliation: Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, Vienna, A-1090, Austria.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dietersdorfer
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Fundamental and Industrial Microbiology Division, Istanbul University, Vezneciler-Istanbul, 34134, Turkey.
authors.forename: Miray
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Üstüntürk-Onan
authors.affiliation: Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, Vienna, A-1090, Austria. julia.walochnik@meduniwien.ac.at.|Institute for Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunobiology, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, Vienna, A-1090, Austria. julia.walochnik@meduniwien.ac.at.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Walochnik
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba; D056894:Amoebozoa / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera; D017753:Ecosystem; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D012621:Seasons
keywords: Acidophilic; Amoebae; Bat faeces; Caves; pH