Genetic analysis among environmental strains of Balamuthia mandrillaris recovered from an artificial lagoon and from soil in Sonora, Mexico

Lares-Jiménez, Luis Fernando; Booton, Gregory C.; Lares‐Villa, Fernando; Velázquez-Contreras, Carlos Arturo; Fuerst, Paul A.

doi:10.1016/j.exppara.2014.07.007

Cited by 35 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Amoebic encephalitis can also be caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris and Naegleria fowleri (Excavata, Heterolobosea) (Visvesvara et al, 1993;Schuster and Visvesvara, 2004;Visvesvara et al, 2007;Siddiqui and Ahmed Khan, 2012). The finding of related SSU rRNA sequences support recent studies showing the presence of both B. mandrillaris (Lares-Jiménez et al, 2014) and N. fowlerii in soil (Moussa et al, 2015).…”

Section: Protist Parasitessupporting

confidence: 80%

Metatranscriptomic census of active protists in soils

et al. 2015

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The high numbers and diversity of protists in soil systems have long been presumed, but their true diversity and community composition have remained largely concealed. Traditional cultivation-based methods miss a majority of taxa, whereas molecular barcoding approaches employing PCR introduce significant biases in reported community composition of soil protists. Here, we applied a metatranscriptomic approach to assess the protist community in 12 mineral and organic soil samples from different vegetation types and climatic zones using small subunit ribosomal RNA transcripts as marker. We detected a broad diversity of soil protists spanning across all known eukaryotic supergroups and revealed a strikingly different community composition than shown before. Protist communities differed strongly between sites, with Rhizaria and Amoebozoa dominating in forest and grassland soils, while Alveolata were most abundant in peat soils. The Amoebozoa were comprised of Tubulinea, followed with decreasing abundance by Discosea, Variosea and Mycetozoa. Transcripts of Oomycetes, Apicomplexa and Ichthyosporea suggest soil as reservoir of parasitic protist taxa. Further, Foraminifera and Choanoflagellida were ubiquitously detected, showing that these typically marine and freshwater protists are autochthonous members of the soil microbiota. To the best of our knowledge, this metatranscriptomic study provides the most comprehensive picture of active protist communities in soils to date, which is essential to target the ecological roles of protists in the complex soil system.

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Section: Protist Parasitessupporting

confidence: 80%

Metatranscriptomic census of active protists in soils

et al. 2015

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“…Occurs in soil and causes amoebic meningoencephalitis. Limited evidence of occurrence in thermal water sources and hot water systems [246][247][248]. Weak [185,246,249] Waterborne NE…”

Section: Balamuthia Mandrillarismentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Water-Related Infectious Diseases

Nichols

Lake²,

Heaviside

2018

Atmosphere

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Background: Water-related, including waterborne, diseases remain important sources of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but particularly in developing countries. The potential for changes in disease associated with predicted anthropogenic climate changes make water-related diseases a target for prevention. Methods: We provide an overview of evidence on potential future changes in water-related disease associated with climate change. Results: A number of pathogens are likely to present risks to public health, including cholera, typhoid, dysentery, leptospirosis, diarrhoeal diseases and harmful algal blooms (HABS). The risks are greatest where the climate effects drive population movements, conflict and disruption, and where drinking water supply infrastructure is poor. The quality of evidence for water-related disease has been documented. Conclusions: We highlight the need to maintain and develop timely surveillance and rapid epidemiological responses to outbreaks and emergence of new waterborne pathogens in all countries. While the main burden of waterborne diseases is in developing countries, there needs to be both technical and financial mechanisms to ensure adequate quantities of good quality water, sewage disposal and hygiene for all. This will be essential in preventing excess morbidity and mortality in areas that will suffer from substantial changes in climate in the future.Atmosphere 2018, 9, 385 2 of 60 which do not suffer the consequences of extreme events to the same extent [4]. Due to the lifetime of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and the timescales associated with ocean warming, even if global CO 2 emissions were curtailed immediately, the effects on the earth's climate, including increasing temperatures and sea level rise would continue for a number of decades before starting to plateau [2]. However, this should be seen as a general call to action to reduce emissions as soon as possible, given that the impacts are likely to extend beyond current conditions and there are indications that economic investment now will be likely to reduce costs later [5]. There is also a need to develop adaptations to cope with changes in climate. Recent research highlighting the health benefits of limiting future temperature rises to the more ambitious target of 1.5 • C rather than 2 • C, in line with the Paris agreement of 2016, further emphasises the need to limit emissions [6].Climate change affects health in a number of ways, and the impacts vary both geographically and between different populations. A growing and ageing population in much of the world means that the proportion of the population who are vulnerable to the effects of climate change will increase in the future [7]. The most direct impacts from climate change are from the effects of high temperatures, and from acute impacts relating to extreme events such as storms, floods and heatwaves. These physical or meteorological stressors can produce direct health effects, such as physical injury, illness, or mental health impacts du...

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“…Consistent with this, B. mandrillaris has been found in environmental samples since the 2000s. To date, eight environmental cases have been confirmed, comprising two cases isolated from the soil in flowerpots in the USA (Schuster et al 2003; Yagi et al 2005), two from Iran (one from soil and one from city dust) (Niyyati et al 2009, 2016), one from well water in Guinea-Bissau (Baquero et al 2014), one from Peruvian soil (Cabello-Vílchez et al 2014), one from water in Mexico (Lares-Jiménez et al 2014), and one from a mud bath in Jamaica (Todd et al 2015). These cases originated in regions with tropical climates, desert climates, and step climates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First report of the isolation of Balamuthia mandrillaris in the northern region of Japan

et al. 2018

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Balamuthia mandrillaris is a free-living amoeba that lives in soil and water near human settlements. B. mandrillaris was first isolated from a mandrill baboon that died at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Park in California in 1986, and the first human infection was reported in 1990. Although reported B. mandrillaris infections are often not properly characterized, it appears that B. mandrillaris invades the living body from the soil and water, either via a wound or the nasal cavity. Most confirmed infections have originated in South and North America. B. mandrillaris inhabits warm climates and is recognized as a pathogen in warm areas such as desert climates and tropical climates. B. mandrillaris has been isolated from environmental samples since 2000, most of which originated from warm areas such as step climates, tropical climates, and desert climates. However, B. mandrillaris may survive in diverse environments, although fewer granulomatous amebic encephalitis patients have been reported in colder Japanese and Northern European regions. In the present study, we conducted a survey of 13 soil samples in Aomori Prefecture located at the northernmost tip of Japan Honshu and successfully isolated one strain of B. mandrillaris from soil for the first time in Japan. In addition, B. mandrillaris gene was detected from several soils. This confirms that B. mandrillaris is capable of spreading to a wider climatic region.

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Genetic analysis among environmental strains of Balamuthia mandrillaris recovered from an artificial lagoon and from soil in Sonora, Mexico

Cited by 35 publications

References 18 publications

Metatranscriptomic census of active protists in soils

Metatranscriptomic census of active protists in soils

Climate Change and Water-Related Infectious Diseases

First report of the isolation of Balamuthia mandrillaris in the northern region of Japan

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