title: Population Structure in Naegleria fowleri as Revealed by Microsatellite Markers.
abstract: Naegleria sp. is a free living amoeba belonging to the Heterolobosea class. Over 40 species of Naegleria were identified and recovered worldwide in different habitats such as swimming pools, freshwater lakes, soil or dust. Among them, N. fowleri, is a human pathogen responsible for primary amoeboic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Around 300 cases were reported in 40 years worldwide but PAM is a fatal disease of the central nervous system with only 5% survival of infected patients. Since both pathogenic and non pathogenic species were encountered in the environment, detection and dispersal mode are crucial points in the fight against this pathogenic agent. Previous studies on identification and genotyping of N. fowleri strains were focused on RAPD analysis and on ITS sequencing and identified 5 variants: euro-american, south pacific, widespread, cattenom and chooz. Microsatellites are powerful markers in population genetics with broad spectrum of applications (such as paternity test, fingerprinting, genetic mapping or genetic structure analysis). They are characterized by a high degree of length polymorphism. The aim of this study was to genotype N. fowleri strains using microsatellites markers in order to track this population and to better understand its evolution. Six microsatellite loci and 47 strains from different geographical origins were used for this analysis. The microsatellite markers revealed a level of discrimination higher than any other marker used until now, enabling the identification of seven genetic groups, included in the five main genetic groups based on the previous RAPD and ITS analyses. This analysis also allowed us to go further in identifying private alleles highlighting intra-group variability. A better identification of the N. fowleri isolates could be done with this type of analysis and could allow a better tracking of the clinical and environmental N. fowleri strains.
authors.affiliation: Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5240 Microbiology Adaptation and Pathogenesis, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Bénédicte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coupat-Goutaland
authors.affiliation: Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5240 Microbiology Adaptation and Pathogenesis, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Estelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Régoudis
authors.affiliation: Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Besseyrias
authors.affiliation: Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, ISPB EA 4446 Bioactive Molecules and Medicinal Chemistry, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Angélique
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mularoni
authors.affiliation: EDF Research and Development, Laboratoire National d'Hydraulique et Environnement, Chatou, France.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Binet
authors.affiliation: EDF Research and Development, Laboratoire National d'Hydraulique et Environnement, Chatou, France.
authors.forename: Pascaline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Herbelin
authors.affiliation: Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5240 Microbiology Adaptation and Pathogenesis, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pélandakis
mesh_terms: D005819:Genetic Markers; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D016848:Naegleria fowleri / Q000235:genetics*; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers