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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2001, p. 4789-4795, Vol. 67, No. 10
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.10.4789-4795.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Infection of Acanthamoeba polyphaga with Simkania negevensis and S. negevensis Survival within Amoebal Cysts

Simona Kahane,1 Bella Dvoskin,1 Mazit Mathias,2 and Maureen G. Friedman1,*

Department of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev,1 and Institute of Pathology, Soroka University Hospital, Beer Sheva,2 Israel

Received 20 March 2001/Accepted 31 July 2001

Simkania negevensis, a novel microorganism belonging to the family Simkaniaceae in the order Chlamydiales, has an intracellular developmental cycle during which two morphological entities, elementary bodies (EB) and reticulate bodies (RB), are seen by electron microscopy. Rates of seropositivity to the organism are high in certain population groups, and S. negevensis has been associated with respiratory illness in humans. This study reports for the first time the ability of S. negevensis to survive and grow inside Acanthamoeba polyphaga in addition to its known ability to grow in cell cultures of human or simian origin. Infectivity of S. negevensis and growth in amoebae were monitored by immunoperoxidase assays. Long-term persistence and exponential growth of S. negevensis in amoebal trophozoites were demonstrated by infectivity assays and by electron microscopy. EB and dividing RB of S. negevensis were observed within inclusion bodies inside A. polyphaga. When S. negevensis-infected A. polyphaga amoebae were exposed to adverse conditions resulting in encystation of the amoebae, several possible outcomes were observed: cysts containing both normal amoebic cytoplasm and S. negevensis; cysts in which S. negevensis cells were relegated to the space between cyst walls; and cysts containing S. negevensis, but apparently lacking amoebal cytoplasm. S. negevensis within dried amoebal cysts was capable of long-term survival. The possibility that amoebae may have a role in natural transmission of S. negevensis needs to be investigated.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva, Israel 84105-IL. Phone: 972 8 640-0867. Fax: 972 8 627-6215. E-mail: maureen{at}bgumail.bgu.ac.il.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2001, p. 4789-4795, Vol. 67, No. 10
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.10.4789-4795.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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