Naegleria fowleri
Species of free-living excavate form of protist / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Naegleria fowleri, also known as the brain-eating amoeba, is a species of the genus Naegleria. It belongs to the phylum Percolozoa and is technically classified as an amoeboflagellate excavate,[1] rather than a true amoeba. This free-living microorganism primarily feeds on bacteria but can become pathogenic in humans, causing an extremely rare, sudden, severe, and usually fatal brain infection known as naegleriasis or primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).[2]
This article is missing information about genome assemblies (drafts and one unpublished but finished genome on NCBI). (January 2021) |
Naegleria fowleri | |
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Diagram depicting the stages of Naegleria fowleri’s life-cycle and environment at that stage | |
Drawings of the three stages Naegleria fowleri’s life-cycle | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Phylum: | Percolozoa |
Class: | Heterolobosea |
Order: | Schizopyrenida |
Family: | Vahlkampfiidae |
Genus: | Naegleria |
Species: | N. fowleri |
Binomial name | |
Naegleria fowleri Carter (1970) | |
It is typically found in warm freshwater bodies such as lakes,[3] rivers, hot springs,[4] warm water discharge from industrial or power plants,[5] geothermal well water,[6] lakes and poorly maintained or minimally chlorinated swimming pools with residual chlorine levels under 0.5 mg/m3,[7][8] water heaters,[9] soil, and pipes connected to tap water.[10] It can exist in either an amoeboid or temporary flagellate stage.[11]