Isolation and molecular identification of free-living amoebae from dishcloths in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

In this work, the presence of free-living amoebae (FLA) in dishcloths collected from human activity related places was evaluated. Once in the laboratory, 6 cm2 pieces of each dishcloth were cut and washed with Page's Amoeba Solution (PAS) in sterile tubes. After washing, the dishcloth pieces were removed, and the tubes were centrifuged (1500 rpm for 10 min). The obtained pellets were seeded onto 2% non-nutrient agar (NNA) plates, incubated at room temperature and were monitored daily an inverted microscope. Once clonal cultures were obtained (only one type of FLA observed), molecular analyses were carried out in order to characterize the isolated FLA strains at the genus/genotype level. From the 31 dishcloths which were processed, FLA strains were isolated in NNA plates in 13 the samples (13/31, 42%). However, and due to bacterial overgrowth, only six strains were characterized at the molecular level (PCR and sequencing). Among the PCR positive strains, 83.33% (5/6) of the PCR positive samples belonged to Acanthamoeba genus (80% (4/5) to genotype T4 and 20% (1/5) to genotype T11). Furthermore, one strain was identified as a member of Allovahlkampfia genus using both morphological and molecular approaches. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the isolation of Allovahlkampfia genus from dishcloths and in the Spanish territory. The presence of FLA in dishcloths should raise awareness to improve hygienic strategies in food- and domestic-related environments, in order to prevent contamination with these protozoa, which are able to be pathogenic and even to act as vehicles of other pathogenic agents.