Isoenzyme patterns of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Naegleria spp. using agarose isoelectric focusing.

Using agarose isoelectric focusing, the isoenzyme patterns of 7 different enzymes were compared in 52 Naegleria strains. The pathogenic N. fowleri was found the most homogeneous species. N. lovaniensis seems to be constituted of different types which form nevertheless a cohesive group. Within N. gruberi, large interstrain band variations were found in almost all enzyme systems. A re-examination of the taxonomic position of this species may therefore be taken into consideration. High temperature strains from Australia were confirmed to be different from N. lovaniensis. Members of a new pathogenic Naegleria sp., N. australiensis, seem to occur in Europe. Large thermophilic strains with many large pores in the cysts show identical zymograms and may constitute a new species or genus.