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. 2024 Sep;22(9):1695-1703.
doi: 10.2166/wh.2024.163. Epub 2024 Aug 8.

Isolates of Acanthamoeba species in the marine environment in the Philippines

Samantha Nicole Layson  1 , Cheilo Maurrice D Alcala  1 , Mikael Lorenzo Q Avenido  1 , Aleeza Erika M Bayot  1 , Charles Darwin C Aclan  1 , Joepher S Barlis  1 , Katrina D Villacorta  1 , Venice Marielle R Abalos  1 , Alyssa Nicole M Maramba  1 , Maricel D C Say  1 , Alessandrea A Serrano  1 , Jana Katryn D Cabello  1 , Julienne Marie I Salvosa  1 , Moriset Paz Djezla C Tan  1 , Kyla Franchesca F Uy  1 , Frederick Ramirez Masangkay  1 , Giovanni De Jesus Milanez  2
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Isolates of Acanthamoeba species in the marine environment in the Philippines

Samantha Nicole Layson et al. J Water Health. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Acanthamoebae spp. are considered the most commonly occurring free-living amoebae (FLA) in the environment. Their high resilience enables them to thrive in different types of environments. Using purposive sampling, 80 surface water samples were collected from identified coastal sites in Mariveles, Bataan, and Lingayen Gulf (40 water samples for each). Nineteen (23.75%) of the 80 water samples yielded positive amoebic growth during the 14-day culture and microscopic examination. The polymerase chain reaction confirmed Acanthamoeba spp. DNA in isolates MB1, A3, A4, A7, C5, and D3 using JDP1 and JDP2 primer sets. Further sequencing revealed that the isolates belonged to Acanthamoeba sp., Acanthamoeba culbertsoni, Acanthamoeba castellani, and Acanthamoeba genotype T4. The sequences were deposited in GenBank and registered under accession numbers PP741651, PP767364, PP741728, PP741729, PP767365, and PP767366, respectively. Potential risk factors such as waste disposal, expansion of human settlements to coastal locations, and soil runoffs in these environments should be controlled to mitigate the proliferation of potentially pathogenic strains of FLAs.

Keywords: Acanthamoeba; Lingayen Gulf; Manila Bay; Philippines; free-living amoebae.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there is no conflict.

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