Identification of two genetic markers that distinguish pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of Acanthamoeba spp.
- 2 April 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in Zeitschrift Fur Parasitenkunde-Parasitology Research
- Vol. 83 (4) , 345-348
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s004360050259
Abstract
Species-level identification of Acanthamoeba isolates is difficult and gives little or no indication of the isolate's pathogenicity. We identified two amplification-based genetic markers that were highly correlated with pathogenicity in Acanthamoeba spp. One marker, designed to amplify a 485-bp fragment of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene (ssrDNA), was preferentially amplified from the nonpathogenic strains; amplifications from the pathogenic strains yielded anomalous fragments of 650 and 900 bp. A second marker was developed on the basis of the anomalous 650-bp fragment. Primers to this sequence preferentially amplified a noncoding locus (called Ac6) only from the pathogenic strains. These two genetic markers may be useful for identification of pathogenic Acanthamoeba spp. strains.Keywords
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