![](https://u.osu.edu/acanthamoeba/files/2023/11/temporal-18S-balamuthia-depositions-2023-e1699999466788.jpg)
![](https://u.osu.edu/acanthamoeba/files/2023/11/balamuthia-size-distribution-2023-e1700000191836.jpg)
The sequence of the mitochondrial 16S-like rRNA from B. mandrillaris has proven to be more variable than its nuclear homologue, although levels of variation are still limited. As a consequence, the mt-16S-like rRNA gene has come to be the target of a greater number of studies within Balamuthia. Currently there are 68 sequences representing 56 isolates that have been deposited in the DNA databases for the mitochondrial 16S-like rRNA gene, plus information for 4 undeposited sequences. The pattern of deposition of sequences of the mt 16S-like rRNA gene sequence over the past 20+ years is shown in the following figure. The spikes in deposited sequences for 2014 and 2016 are simply the result of an uncoordinated set of depositions, and unlike the case for the 18S rRNA sequences, were not the result of extensive microbiome sampling.
![](https://u.osu.edu/acanthamoeba/files/2023/11/temporal-mt-16S-like-balamuthia-depositions-2023-e1700018938528.jpg)
![](https://u.osu.edu/acanthamoeba/files/2023/11/balamuthia-mt-16S-like-size-distribution-2023-e1700018987196.jpg)
Examination and comparison of the WGS genome information from three different isolate of B. mandrillaris is obviously an important focus of research. On a personal note, I think it remarkable that with data from only about 100-150 isolates of B. mandrillaris, we already have three complete WGS project to study. In contrast, with more than 6000 isolates, Acanthamoeba had only ~35 WGS sequences to compare. Whole genome sequencing, and the bioinformatics approaches that it requires, will bring us tremendous advances in the future. I look forward to these advances and express a profound frustration that my career mostly spanned a time when these tools were not available. I envy the young researchers who are examining the organisms of which I write. Good luck and good research.