P5: Application of molecular techniques to Acanthamoeba disinfection studies

Acanthamoeba are ubiquitous protists that play an environmental role in regulating microbial diversity; they also occasionally cause infections of the eye (Acanthamoeba keratitis) and brain (granulomatous amoebic encephalitis).  During stressful conditions, the Acanthamoeba undergo a process of encystment, in which they build a double cell wall and become relatively inactive.  For this study, multiple laboratory encystment methods were compared to determine the percent encystment and the different viabilities of laboratory-produced cysts.  Four different encystment genes were targeted for development of a primer library for RT-PCR expression studies.  These studies lay the foundation for quantitative gene expression analysis and provide the basis for comparison of various encystment methods.