Acanthamoeba

Acanthamoeba
Phase contrast micrograph of an Acanthamoeba polyphaga cyst.
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Clade: Amorphea
Phylum: Amoebozoa
Class: Discosea
Order: Centramoebida
Family: Acanthamoebidae
Genus:
Volkonsky 1931
Type species
Acanthamoeba castellanii
Volkonsky 1931

Acanthamoeba is a genus of amoebae that are commonly recovered from soil, fresh water, and other habitats. The genus Acanthamoeba has two stages in its life cycle, the metabolically active trophozoite stage and a dormant, stress-resistant cyst stage. In nature, Acanthamoeba species are generally free-living bacterivores. However, they are also opportunistic pathogens able to cause serious and potentially fatal infections in humans and other animals.[1]

  1. ^ Marciano-Cabral F, Cabral G (April 2003). "Acanthamoeba spp. as agents of disease in humans". Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 16 (2): 273–307. doi:10.1128/CMR.16.2.273-307.2003. PMC 153146. PMID 12692099.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.