Premium
Biochemical Identification and Phylogenetic Relationships in Free‐Living Amoebas of the Genus Naegleria 1
Author(s) -
PERNIN PIERRE,
CARIOU MARIELOUISE,
JACQUIER ARLETTE
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
the journal of protozoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 0022-3921
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1985.tb03085.x
Subject(s) - naegleria , naegleria fowleri , phylogenetic tree , identification (biology) , biology , genus , zoology , amoeba (genus) , ecology , protozoa , microbiology and biotechnology , virology , genetics , gene , meningoencephalitis
Using isoelectric focusing, the zymograms of 23 pathogenic and nonpathogenic Naegleria strains were studied for the activity of 16 enzymes. Certain enzymes (lactate dehydrogenase, L‐threonine dehydrogenase, superoxide dismutase, acid phosphatase, malic enzyme, and leucine aminopeptidase) proved particularly useful from a practical point of view as they allow easy and reliable identification of pathogenic N. fowleri and N. australiensis as well as nonpathogenic N. lovaniensis strains. Genetic interpretation of these zymograms gave estimates of genetic distances that largely confirmed the taxonomic position of the Naegleria species. In addition, the genetic data suggest that there are two main phylogenetic groups in the genus Naegleria .