Abstract
Amoebae of the genus Vannella isolated from an ornamental fish aquarium were found to be infected with fungi. Upon plate culture, amoeba-trapping hyphal filaments were developed, and the amoeba trophozoites were found to harbour yeast-like parasites in their cytoplasm. Transfection of hyphae to a laboratory strain of Vannella resulted in the formation of conidia indicating the possible presence of zygomycetes of the genus Acaulopage, while efforts to culture the endoparasite remained unsuccessful. Biomolecular analysis based on rDNA revealed the presence of two distinct types of fungi, confirming the filamentous form as Acaulopage sp. (Zoopagomycota, Zoopagales) and identifying the yeast-like endoparasite as Cladosporium sp. (Ascomycota, Cladosporiales). To our knowledge, this is the first report of amoebae infected with Cladosporium.
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Acknowledgements
The technical assistance of Sylvia Voortmann and Bernd Walkenford, EM-unit of the Imaging Center Essen, is gratefully acknowledged. The TEM investigation was performed at the EM-unit of the Imaging Center Essen, Germany.
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The samples were collected by Rolf Michel. The strains were cultivated by Rolf Michel, Karl-Dieter Müller and Frank Mosel. Electron microscopy was performed by Holger Jastrow, Frank Mosel and Karl-Dieter Müller. DNA sequencing was performed by Julia Walochnik. Molecular analyses and manuscript writing were carried out by Daniele Corsaro. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
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Corsaro, D., Müller, KD., Mosel, F. et al. On predatory fungi feeding on free-living amoebae harbouring yeast-like endoparasites. Parasitol Res 122, 2385–2392 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-023-07940-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-023-07940-1