Classification of Acanthamoeba

Morphological, physiological, molecular and phylogenetic characterization of new environmental isolates of Acanthamoeba spp. from the region of Bratislava, Slovakia

“…Sawyer (1971) first observed that the ionic strength of the growth medium can alter the shape of cyst walls, thus substantially reducing the reliability of cyst morphology as a taxonomic characteristic (Stothard et al 1998). Furthermore, the application of morphology as a taxonomic criterion is limited due to the variation of the cysts within the clone (Page 1988;Visvesvara 1991). The cultivation medium influences not only the shape of the cysts walls but also the average cyst size.…”

Acanthamoeba keratitis update—incidence, molecular epidemiology and new drugs for treatment

“…The demonstrated human and animal pathogenicity of the genus Acanthamoeba 14,15 coupled with the difficulty of using morphological criteria for subgenus identification of isolates 16,17 has stimulated a number of laboratories to pursue molecular methods for the detection and identification of Acanthamoeba. The objectives are to discover a method, or methods, for detection and identification that are reliable, sensitive, relatively simple, and economical.…”

“…In the case of Acanthamoeba, it has been difficult to classify isolates at the subgenus level even when that would be useful. 16,17 Although taxonomic experts distinguish a number of species, inexperienced investigators have had a difficult time recognising them.…”

Acanthamoeba spp. como parásitos patógenos y oportunistas

“…Este grupo contiene amebas con quistes < 18 µm, donde el ectocisto es rugoso, mientras que el endocisto puede ser poligonal, triangular, ovalado o redondeado. En el último grupo, el diámetro promedio de los quistes es < 18 µm y el ectocisto es delgado y ondulado mientras que el endocisto es generalmente redondeado (Figura 3) 1 . No obstante, la clasificación de Acanthamoeba basada en características morfológicas ha resultado poco fiable debido a que la morfología de las especies puede cambiar de acuerdo las condiciones de cultivo.…”

“…Sin embargo, sólo en 1931 fue establecido su género, donde se ubican las amebas que presentan numerosas proyecciones espinosas, superficiales, conocidas como acantopodios 1 . El primer indicio de que Acanthamoeba podía causar enfermedades en humanos fue en 1958 durante los ensayos para la vacuna contra la polio.…”