Santiago-Correa, Milissa L.

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    Uso de microscopía confocal de rayos láser para estudiar la interacción entre Escherichia coli y Acanthamoeba polyphaga: potencial de transmisión de patógenos fagocitados por protistas presentes en bebederos de agua para ganado.
    (2006) Santiago-Correa, Milissa L.; Chaparro, Mildred; College of Agricultural Sciences; Muñoz, Carlos; Orellana, Lynette; Department of Food Science and Technology; Negrón, Edna
    Published research suggests that amoebas can play a role of importance in the survival and dispersion of bacteria in the environment. The protection of bacteria within protozoa can render ineffective the mechanisms used to control pathogens transmitted through foods. Microscopic observations of water samples collected from cattle water troughs, as well as from samples taken from the ruminal fluid of dairy cows, demonstrate that these are reservoirs of free-living amoebas, ciliates and other protozoa in the farm. The co-incubation between trophozoites of the free-living amoeba Acanthamoeba polyphaga and the bacteria Escherichia coli (previously dyed with the fluorescent dye Live/Dead L-7012) revealed that Acanthamoeba polyphaga has the capacity to lodge Escherichia coli in its interior without causing damage to the cellular membrane of the bacteria. In addition, the greater the time of co-incubation between these organisms, the greater the amount of bacteria observed inside the amoeba. This study demonstrates that cattle water troughs and ruminal liquid can serve as reservoirs of free-living amoebas and ciliates, and could be a potential source of transmission of Escherichia coli in the farm, increasing the difficulty to control the dispersion of pathogenic bacteria into foods. This study represents the first written report on the interaction between Escherichia coli and the free-living amoeba Acanthamoeba polyphaga, using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy.