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Dos Santos DL, Chaúque BJM, Matiazo FF, de Miranda Ribeiro L, Rott MB. Agar dehydration: a simple method for long-term storage of Acanthamoeba spp. collection at room temperature. Parasitol Res 2024; 123:153. [PMID: 38446221 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-024-08172-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
This study describes dehydration of agar containing cysts as a novel and inexpensive method for long-term storage of Acanthamoeba spp. collections at room temperature. Five hundred microliters of axenically cultured Acanthamoeba spp. trophozoites (106 cells/mL) in PYG media or 150 µl of amoeba suspension (106 cells or cysts/mL) from monoxenic plate culture was spread onto the surface of non-nutritive agar (NNA, 2-3-mm thick) without or with a layer of heat-inactivated Escherichia coli, respectively. The plates were sealed and incubated at 30 °C. After the encystment, the Parafilm® was removed, and the plates were kept at the same temperature until the NNA was completely dehydrated. The dehydrated cyst-containing NNA was cut in rectangles and stored in airtight tubes at room temperature for up to 3 years. Cyst viability was assessed by inoculating them in fresh NNA with a layer of E. coli and in PYG followed by incubation at 30 °C. One hundred percent of samples from all specimens (19) stored over the 3 years allowed new cultures to be re-established; however, two strains showed reduced viability, at 66.7% and 62.5%, after 2 years of room temperature storage. One hundred percent of the cyst samples produced axenically and maintained in dry NNA allowed the re-establishment of axenic cultures through direct incubation in PYG, with excystment occurring within 24 or 48 h. For the first time, we report the dehydration of cyst-containing agar as an economical and effective method for the long-term storage of Acanthamoeba spp. collections at room temperature. It enables the creation of large collections using reduced space and economical transport of Acanthamoeba strains, in addition to allowing better organization of the collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise Leal Dos Santos
- Laboratory 520, Protozoology Laboratory, Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology Department, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Sul, Ramiro Barcelos Street, N 2600, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, 90035-002, Brazil
- Postdoctoral Fellow at Master's Program in Clinical Research (MPPC) at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) (CAPES Pilot Program), Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
| | - Beni Jequicene Mussengue Chaúque
- Laboratory 520, Protozoology Laboratory, Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology Department, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Sul, Ramiro Barcelos Street, N 2600, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, 90035-002, Brazil
- Postgraduate Program in Biological Sciences: Pharmacology and Therapeutics, UFRGS, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
- Center of Studies in Science and Technology (NECET), Biology Course, Universidade Rovuma, Niassa Branch, Lichinga, Mozambique
| | - Fernanda Fraga Matiazo
- Laboratory 520, Protozoology Laboratory, Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology Department, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Sul, Ramiro Barcelos Street, N 2600, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, 90035-002, Brazil
| | - Larissa de Miranda Ribeiro
- Laboratory 520, Protozoology Laboratory, Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology Department, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Sul, Ramiro Barcelos Street, N 2600, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, 90035-002, Brazil
| | - Marilise Brittes Rott
- Laboratory 520, Protozoology Laboratory, Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology Department, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Sul, Ramiro Barcelos Street, N 2600, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, 90035-002, Brazil.
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