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Veterinary Parasitology Jul 2016Associations with free-living protozoa (FLP) have been implicated in the persistence of foodborne pathogenic bacteria in food-related environments. To date however no...
Associations with free-living protozoa (FLP) have been implicated in the persistence of foodborne pathogenic bacteria in food-related environments. To date however no information is available on the presence of FLP in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of pigs, which represents an important reservoir for zoonotic foodborne bacteria and hence a potential location for associations with FLP. This is at least partly due to the lack of adequate protocols to recover FLP from intestinal content and feces. In the present study different protocols to recover FLP from the porcine GIT and feces were tested. The most effective protocols were then applied to explore the presence of live FLP in the pig GIT and feces. A filtration based protocol was identified as the most suitable method to recover viable FLP from the porcine GIT and feces. Cultivable FLP were recovered from different parts of the GIT, suggesting at least a transient presence of FLP in this habitat. Free-living amoebae species (Acanthamoeba spp., Hyperamoeba sp., Vannella sp., Vermamoeba vermiformis, hartmannellids and vahlkampfiids) but also ciliates (Colpoda sp. and Tetrahymena/Glaucoma lookalike) and flagellates (cercomonads, bodonids and glissomonads) were recovered and cultured from pig intestinal content. Acanthamoeba hatchetti and Filamoeba sinensis were isolated for the first time from pig intestinal content. Despite high gastric acidity, non-cyst forming amoeba species were also detected which suggests survival of their trophozoites in the animal GIT.
Topics: Amoeba; Animals; Biodiversity; Ciliophora; Feces; Gastrointestinal Tract; Swine; Trophozoites
PubMed: 27369581
DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2016.06.002 -
European Journal of Protistology Oct 2016Acanthamoebae feed on bacteria but are also frequent hosts of bacterial symbionts. Here, we describe the stable co-occurrence of two symbionts, one affiliated to the...
Acanthamoebae feed on bacteria but are also frequent hosts of bacterial symbionts. Here, we describe the stable co-occurrence of two symbionts, one affiliated to the genus Parachlamydia and the other to the candidate genus Paracaedibacter (Alphaproteobacteria), within a clinical isolate of Acanthamoeba hatchetti genotype T4. We performed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to describe this symbiosis. Our study adds to other reports of simultaneous co-occurrence of two symbionts within one Acanthamoeba cell.
Topics: Acanthamoeba; Alphaproteobacteria; Amebiasis; Chlamydiales; Humans; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Keratitis; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Phylogeny; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Symbiosis
PubMed: 27344110
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejop.2016.04.002 -
Parasites & Vectors Mar 2016Acanthamoeba is an emerging potentially pathogenic amoeba that has been receiving increasing attention worldwide as a reservoir and potential vector for the transmission...
BACKGROUND
Acanthamoeba is an emerging potentially pathogenic amoeba that has been receiving increasing attention worldwide as a reservoir and potential vector for the transmission of pathogenic bacteria. It is also associated with brain cell damage, keratitis and skin irritation in humans. Its effects are more severe in immunocompromised individuals. This study provides for the first time in Uganda, information on the prevalence and genotypes of Acanthamoeba in environmental and domestic (tap) water.
METHODS
A total of 324 environmental and 84 tap water samples were collected between November 2013 and September 2014. The samples were centrifuged, cultured (Non-Nutrient agar seeded with gram-negative bacteria) and observed under a microscope. After confirmation of Acanthamoeba, genomic DNA was extracted for PCR assays by chemical lysis and purification with phenol/chloroform/isoamyl alcohol. Samples that showed the strongest positive bands (400-600 bp) were subjected to cycle sequencing.
RESULTS
Among environmental and tap water samples, 107 (33 %) and 36 (42.9 %) tested positive for Acanthamoeba spp., respectively. Prevalence of Acanthamoeba from specific environmental locations was as follows; Kazinga channel banks (60.7 %), Fish landing sites (50 %), River Kyambura (39.6 %) and Kazinga mid channel (5.3 %). There was a significant difference (p = 0.001) in the prevalence of Acanthamoeba between sampling sites. The mean (Mean ± SE) occurrence of the organism was higher in Kazinga channel banks (3.44 ± 0.49) and Fish landing sites (3.08 ± 0.53). Correlation between in situ parameters and Acanthamoeba was insignificant except for the Dissolved Oxygen (mg/ML) which was negatively correlated (r = -0.231, p = 0.001) to Acanthamoeba. Six distinct partial Acanthamoeba T-genotype groups T1, T2, T4, T5, T6 and T11 were obtained. Ultimately, Acanthamoeba spp., Acanthamoeba hatchetti and Acanthamoeba polyphaga were isolated in the current study.
CONCLUSIONS
There was a high prevalence of Acanthamoeba in communal piped tap and environmental water used by communities, indicating poor environmental and domestic water quality.
Topics: Acanthamoeba; DNA, Protozoan; Genetic Variation; Genotype; Microscopy; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prevalence; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Uganda; Water
PubMed: 26935431
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1411-y -
Journal of Water and Health Sep 2015Free living amoebae (FLA) are amphizoic protozoa that are ubiquitous in nature. Infection with FLA may result in neurological, ocular and skin infections. Exposure to...
Free living amoebae (FLA) are amphizoic protozoa that are ubiquitous in nature. Infection with FLA may result in neurological, ocular and skin infections. Exposure to Acanthamoeba occurs frequently through water contact and knowledge of the presence of the organisms in water sources is important in understanding transmission dynamics. The distribution of Acanthamoeba was studied in recreational and domestic water samples collected from across Jamaica. Morphological assessment and polymerase chain reaction revealed Acanthamoeba spp. isolates in 50.6% (42/83) and 17.3% (14/81) of recreational and domestic water, respectively. Sequencing of the DF3 region of the 18S rDNA resulted in the identification of genotypes T3, T4, T5, T10 and T11 corresponding to Acanthamoeba spp: A. griffini, A. triangularis, A. lenticulata, A. culbertsoni and A. hatchetti. Moreover, T4 was the most frequently isolated genotype in both recreational and domestic water. Thermotolerance and osmotolerance assays indicated that most isolates were potentially pathogenic. This is the first report of T3 and T10 genotypes in the Caribbean and the first report of these Acanthamoeba spp. in Jamaican waters. The study shows that there is potential risk of infection to contact wearers who practise poor lens care. Further, Acanthamoeba should be considered as a cause of neurological infections in Jamaica.
Topics: Acanthamoeba; Bathing Beaches; Contact Lenses; Fresh Water; Genotype; Humans; Jamaica; Natural Springs; Risk Assessment; Seawater
PubMed: 26322776
DOI: 10.2166/wh.2015.232 -
Journal of Clinical Microbiology Aug 2014A case of amoebic placentitis in a mare from eastern Australia was diagnosed postpartum by histopathological examination of the placenta. The identity of the etiological...
A case of amoebic placentitis in a mare from eastern Australia was diagnosed postpartum by histopathological examination of the placenta. The identity of the etiological agent was confirmed as Acanthamoeba hatchetti by use of diversity profiling based on a next-generation sequencing approach.
Topics: Acanthamoeba; Amebiasis; Animals; Australia; DNA, Protozoan; Female; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Horse Diseases; Horses; Molecular Sequence Data; Placenta Diseases; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic
PubMed: 24829227
DOI: 10.1128/JCM.01071-14