Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Endocrinology
A study maps 1,122 proteins in the mitochondria of Acanthamoeba castellanii, a microbe that can cause infectious blindness. It also shows that oxygen changes the organelle’s energy machinery and that Acanthamoeba produces hydrogen gas in oxygen-free conditions using an oxygen-sensitive enzyme.
Molecular tests detected Cryptosporidium parvum and Acanthamoeba in some untreated spring-water samples from Iran. The findings suggest that springs used for drinking or recreation can be a potential source of exposure to protozoan pathogens.
Researchers have described a new freshwater amoeba species from Budamu Stream near Cape Coast, Ghana. Their analysis also identified an additional lineage and up to seven possible Mayorella groups, many made up of unnamed or environmental sequences.
A combined antibody-based test detected and quantified Legionella pneumophila in complex process-water samples while reducing total processing time. It also supported identification of important subtypes, although direct subtyping had limitations and the study used samples spiked with laboratory standards.
