Diversity and seasonal impact of Acanthamoeba species in a subtropical rivershed

Po Min Kao, Ming Yuan Chou, Chi Wei Tao, Wen Chien Huang, Bing Mu Hsu*, Shu Min Shen, Cheng Wei Fan, Yi Chou Chiu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study evaluated the presence of Acanthamoeba species in the Puzih River watershed, which features typical subtropical monsoon climate and is located just above the Tropic of Cancer in Taiwan. The relationship between the seasonal and geographical distributions of Acanthamoeba species in this rivershed was also investigated. Acanthamoeba species were detected in water samples using the amoebal enrichment culture method and confirmed by PCR. A total of 136 water samples were included in this study, 16 (11.7%) of which contained Acanthamoeba species. Samples with the highest percentage of Acanthamoeba (32.4%) were obtained during the summer season, mainly from upstream areas. The identified species in the four seasons included Acanthamoeba palestinensis (T2), Acanthamoeba sp. IS2/T4 (T4), Acanthamoeba lenticulata (T5), Acanthamoeba hatchetti (T11), Acanthamoeba healyi (T12), and Acanthamoeba jacobsi (T15). The most frequently identified Acanthamoeba genotype was T4 (68.7%). Acanthamoeba genotype T4 is responsible for Acanthamoeba keratitis and should be considered for associated human health risk potential in the rivershed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number405794
JournalBioMed Research International
Volume2013
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes

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