Prevalence of acanthamoeba from tap water in rio grande do Sul, Brazil.

A total of 136 samples of tap water were collected from state and municipal schools between March and November 2009. The samples were filtered through cellulose nitrate membranes that were seeded at non-nutrient agar 1.5% containing an overlayer of Escherichia coli suspension. Thirty-one (22.79%) tap water samples investigated were found positive for free-living amoebae (FLA). From these, 13 presented as FLA that seems to belong to the genus Acanthamoeba. All samples of FLA were cloned and identified as belonging to the genus Acanthamoeba by the morphology of cysts and trophozoites and by PCR using genus-specific primers that amplify the ASA.S1 region of 18S rDNA gene. Physiological tests of thermotolerance and osmotolerance were used to evaluate the pathogenicity of the isolates. The sequencing analysis by comparing the sequences submitted to GenBank, showed genotype distribution into groups T2, T2/T6, T6, and T4. In tests of thermotolerance and osmotolerance, 50% of the isolates had a low pathogenic potential. The results indicated the presence of Acanthamoeba in tap water in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, revealing its importance and the need for more epidemiological studies to determine their distribution in the environment and its pathogenic potential.