December 2022 – Three new genomes for Acanthamoeba have been added to the international databases. They represent two T11 strains (SK_2022a and SK_2022b), and one T4C strain (SK_2022c). The genomes are described in a paper in Pathogens 2022, 11(12), 1558.
November 2022 – The genome of the ATCC isolate ATCC 30461 can be deduced from a series of SRA files (GenBank project PRJNA905484).
June 2022 – Seven new genomes of Acanthamoeba strains (six T4 and one T3 strain) have been added to the international databases, through SRA files (files SRX14501630 through SRX14501636 in Genbank). The genomes are described in a paper in Microbiology Spectrum, 10(2), pp.e00025-22
MARCH 2022 – Tables and pages are being updated to reflect status of the databases on January 1, 2022
December 2021 – A new genome sequence, for A. castellanii C3 (ATCC 50739) has been released on the International DNA databases (accession # JAJGAO000000000). A. castellanii C3 is a T4A sequence, based on its 18S rRNA gene sequence. Details have been deposited in BioRxiv.
August 2021 – A new sequence type, T23, has been reported in a study of water bodies in Thailand (Putaporntip et al., 2021). Two isolates were observed to have 18S rRNA sequences that differed significantly from any previous sequence type. The 18S rRNA gene sequences from the T23 sequence type form a sister clade to a clade that contains sequence types T10, T12 and T14.
JULY 2021 – TABLES UPDATED
JANUARY 2019 – HAPPY NEW YEARS – ALMOST ALL TABLES AND FIGURES CONCERNING ACANTHAMOEBA, PROTACANTHAMOEBA AND VERMAMOEBA HAVE BEEN UPDATED TO THE END OF 2018.
JANUARY 2019 – A recent paper (Kialashaki et al., Annals of Parasitology 2018, 64(4), 285–297) presents an interesting metanalysis of the occurrence of Acanthamoeba in environmental soil and water samples throughout Iran.
September 2018 – WE HAVE BEGUN PLACING THE ABSTRACTS FROM PAST FLAM MEETINGS ON OUR SITE. ABSTRACTS FROM FIVE PREVIOUS FLAM MEETINGS ARE ALREADY ACCESSIBLE.
August 2018 – JUST RETURNED FROM A VERY SUCCESSFUL TRIP TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF PARASITOLOGY IN DAEGU, KOREA, WHERE WE HELD SEVERAL SESSIONS EXPLORING ISSUES WITH FREE-LIVING AMOEBAE. Keynote addresses presented by Ho Joon Shin, Navid Khan and Paul Fuerst. Sessions chaired by Jacob Lorenzo Morales and Julia Walochnik.
JANUARY 2018 – HAPPY NEW YEARS – ALMOST ALL TABLES AND FIGURES CONCERNING ACANTHAMOEBA, PROTACANTHAMOEBA AND VERMAMOEBA HAVE BEEN UPDATED TO THE END OF 2017.
IN DECEMBER 2017 THE NUMBER OF 18S rRNA GENE SEQUENCES EXCEEDED 4300 IN THE DNA DATABASES. MOST CHARTS AND TABLES HAVE BEEN UPDATED THROUGH THE END OF 2017. (click here to see a list of updates to the site)
NOVEMBER 2017 – THE SOURCE OF THE T99 CLADE IS IDENTIFIED. THE T99 SEQUENCES ARE ARTIFACTS CAUSED BY CHIMERIZATION OF 18S rRNA PRODUCTS COLLECTED DURING ENVIRONMENTAL DNA STUDIES. THEY REPRESENT T13 CLADE ACANTHAMOEBA. ANOTHER VERY SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION FROM THE CORSARO LAB (Corsaro et al. 2017b – Parasitology Research)
OCTOBER 2017 – THE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT IDENTIFIABLE T4 ALLELES THAT OCCUR MORE THAN A SINGLE TIME IN THE DNA DATABASES HAS PASSED 100.
APRIL 2017 – FULL LENGTH SEQUENCES OF 18S rRNA GENE FROM A. JACOBSI – A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION (Corsaro et al. 2017- Parasitology Research 116: 1273).
ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT ADDITION WAS THE APPEARANCE OF TWO NEW GENOME SEQUENCES FROM ACANTHAMOEBA (A. COMANDONI PB30/40 AND A. LENTICULATA STRAIN 72/2), BOTH DEPOSITED AS SEQUENCE READ ARCHIVES (SRA) FROM THE AUSTRIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (JANUARY 2017). INFORMATION IN OUR GENOMES SECTION.
LATE IN DECEMBER 2016, A PAPER APPEARED THAT REINTERPRETS THE EXTENT OF THE ACANTHAMOEBIDAE (Tice, et al. – Biology Direct [2016 Dec 28] 11(1):69.). SEE THE SECTION BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE PROPOSAL OF A NEW SEQUENCE TYPE (HERE DESIGNATED T22, REPRESENTED BY THE PROPOSED SPECIES ACANTHAMOEBA PYRIFORMIS). THE EXPRESSED PORTIONS OF THE GENOME OF A. PYRIFORMIS ARE AVAILABLE ON GENBANK AS A SEQUENCE READ ARCHIVE (SRA).
NOVEMBER 2016 – WE HAVE RECENTLY STARTED A NEW PAGE (“UNANSWERED QUESTIONS“) WHICH LISTS SOME QUESTIONS THAT HAVE ARISEN FROM THE DATA, AND THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO ALL RESEARCHERS OF ACANTHAMOEBA.