Electrophoretic study of the water-soluble proteins of free-living amebas of the limax group
Kurdova, R.I.; Mikhov, L.D.
Meditsinskaia Parazitologiia i Parazitarnye Bolezni 48(4): 70-74
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0025-8326 PMID: 481330 Document Number: 153099
Disc electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel was used to study water-soluble proteins of Amoeba limax species group amoebae for determination of species specificity. Amoebae of 7 strains were studied (4 local, 2 re-isolates from dead experimentally infected animals, and a reference strain, Acanthamoeba culbertsoni, A-1). The experimental results permitted division of the amoebal strains under study into 3 groups: the A. culbertsoni group, the amoeba strains isolated from human nasopharynx and strains isolated from water of various water bodies. Members of these individual groups differ from each other by the number of protein fractions, electrophoretic mobility and the intensity of staining. Amoeba strains isolated from man and those isolated from the environment belong to different species. Significant differences were found in electrophoregrams of local amoeba strains and A. culbertsoni. The passaging of amoebae in white mice did not change their protein spectrum patterns.