Analysis of autophagy in the enteric protozoan parasite Entamoeba.

Entamoeba histolytica is the enteric protozoan parasite that causes human amoebiasis. We have previously shown that autophagy is involved in proliferation and differentiation in the related species Entamoeba invadens, which infects reptiles and develops similar clinical manifestations. Because this group of protists possesses only a limited set of genes known to participate in autophagy in other eukaryotes, it potentially represents a useful model for studying the core system of autophagy and provides tools to elucidate the evolution of eukaryotes and their organelles. Here we describe the methods to study autophagy in Entamoeba.