Identification of a New Acanthamoeba 18S rRNA Gene Sequence Type, Corresponding to the Species Acanthamoeba jacobsi Sawyer, Nerad and Visvesvara, 1992 (Lobosea: Acanthamoebidae)

Since 1996, a new classification system has been used to assign members of the genus Acanthamoeba to different sequence types. This study aimed to place the thermophilic species Acanthamoeba jacobsi into the sequence type classification by sequencing part of the 18S rRNA gene for six isolates of this species. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences showed the six strains to be closely related and confirmed their identification as A. jacobsi. This species is well separated from all previously typed Acanthamoeba strains, and is allocated to a new sequence type, T15.