Prototheca algae in aquatic environments

26 02 2022

We cordially invite you to the institute sminarium: on Monday, 28^th of February at 2 pm MSc Mateusz Iskra from the Department of Medical Microbiology will deliver a seminar on „Occurrence of the Prototheca algae in aquatic environments in Poland”.

ABSTRACT: Prototheca species are saprophytic, and occasionally pathogenic, unicellular, non-photosynthetic algae, frequently found in the natural environment. Aquatic niches contaminated with the Prototheca algae may provide a source of infection for vertebrates either through direct contact with or traumatic inoculation. The aim of this study was to cross-sectionally examine the occurrence of the Prototheca microalgae in water environments in Poland. In conclusion, after four decades, this is the first study to explore thoroughly the occurrence of Prototheca spp. in water sources. Unexpectedly, Prototheca were isolated at a relatively low rate. This is in contrast to a common belief of environmental ubiquity of the algae. However, finding three novel species among so few strains recovered speaks of important species diversity of the Prototheca algae. Our previously designed identification scheme of the Prototheca sp. was extended to include newly described species.