BACKGROUND Free-living amoebae (FLA) are a group of ubiquitous protozoan, which are distributed in the natural and artificial environment sources. The main aim of the current study was to identify the presence of FLA in the recreational hot springs of Sarein in Ardebil Province of Iran. METHODS Seven recreational hot springs were selected in Sarein City and 28 water samples (four from each ho...

Acanthamoeba species are free-living amoebae that can be found in almost every range of environments. Within this genus, a number of species are recognized as human pathogens, potentially causing Acanthamoeba keratitis, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, and chronic granulomatous lesions. Soil and water samples were taken from experimental station at Julianna Major of Plant Protection Institut...

In order to study micro-spatial distribution of amoebae, an intact slice of sandy sediment from the brackish-water Nivå Bay (Baltic Sea, The Sound), 40 x 24 mm in size and 2 mm in thickness was gently sectioned into cubes, 2 x 2 x 2 mm in size. Each cube was inoculated into enrichment media to reveal the biodiversity of amoebae. Seventeen species of amoebae were recovered. The 2-D map of amoeba...

In order to better understand the distribution patterns of terrestrial eukaryotic microbes and the factors governing them, we studied the diversity partitioning of soil testate amoebae across levels of spatially nested habitat hierarchy in the largest European old-growth dark coniferous forest (Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve; Komi Republic, Russia). The variation in testate amoeba species rich...

We have combined fluorescent analogue cytochemistry with fluorescence photobleaching recovery to measure the mobility of fluorescently labeled actin and other labeled test proteins microinjected into living amoebae. Bovine serum albumin, ovalbumin, and ribonuclease A have a cytoplasmic mobility, expressed as a diffusion coefficient, that is 1/2 to 1/3 of that observed in aqueous solution; 90% o...

Free-living amoebae (FLA) are ubiquitous organisms that have been isolated from various domestic water systems, such as cooling towers and hospital water networks. In addition to their own pathogenicity, FLA can also act as Trojan horses and be naturally infected with amoeba-resisting bacteria (ARB) that may be involved in human infections, such as pneumonia. We investigated the biodiversity of...