Exploring the neighborhood of thermotolerant free-living amoebae in Costa Rican natural water reservoirs as a preliminary One Health approach in the field
Kaydedildi:
| Yazarlar: | , , , , , , , |
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| Yayın Tarihi: | 2026 |
| Diğer Bilgiler: | Free-living amoebae (FLA) of the Vahlkampfiidae family are widely distributed in nature, occupying aquatic and terrestrial habitats. The group includes thermophilic amphizoic organisms such as Naegleria fowleri. This study aims to describe natural recreational freshwaters in terms of the presence of thermotolerant vahlkampfiids, sediment microbial communities and climatic/land use features. Water samples were collected from 24 locations from Costa Rica. DNA was extracted from FLA cultivated at 42 °C and molecular identification using family and N. fowleri species-specific primers for conventional PCR was performed. DNA extractions of sediment samples were also performed for a microbial metabarcoding characterization approach through 16S rRNA V3-V4 region and 18S rRNA V4 region gene amplicons sequencing. A geographic information system was used to locate each sampling site in its respective climatic subregion and to establish a land use coverage buffer around it. Results revealed 20 positive locations for vahlkampfiids; the sites predominantly featured forest cover and were in climatic subregions with significant rainfall patterns. All locations were negative for N. fowleri; however, identification by sequencing detected a predominance of Tetramitus spp., followed by Vahlkampfia sp. and Neovahlkampfia sp. Sediment metabarcoding showed mainly metazoans, microalgae and Proteobacteria in these benthic ecosystems. Even when N. fowleri was not found, our exploration showed that these aquatic environments of close human contact allow the presence of thermotolerant vahlkampfiids and might be surrounded by microbial communities of interest for future research regarding ecological interactions and public health risks. |
| Ülke: | Kérwá |
| Kurum: | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Kérwá |
| Dil: | Inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:kerwa.ucr.ac.cr:10669/105344 |
| Online Erişim: | https://hdl.handle.net/10669/105344 |
| Anahtar Kelime: | Vahlkampfiidae Naegleria climate land use metabarcoding. |