The occurrence of amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, in sediment samples from Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana was investigated. This amoeba is pathogenic and can cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. In this study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction methods were used to test for the prevalence of Naegleria fowleri, HF183, and E. coli. N. fowleri was detected in 51.25% of our sediment samples. Illumina sequencing of sediment samples revealed ten different phyla, with Cyanobacteria being the most predominant at sites that generally presented with the highest median N. fowleri concentrations. N. fowleri was however strongly negatively correlated with HF183 (r = −0.859, p < 0.001). Whenever sediment E. coli concentrations were below 1.54 Log GC/g, there was only a 37.5% chance that N. fowleri would be detected in the same sample. When sediment E. coli concentrations exceeded 2.77 Log GC/g, the chances of detecting N. fowleri in the same sample increased to 90%, potentially suggesting predatory activity by the amoeba. The effect of temperature was observed to be different in relation to observed N. fowleri concentrations and detection rates. Although sediment samples collected during periods of higher temperatures had significantly lower mean N. fowleri concentrations (2.7 Log GC/g) compared to those collected at lower temperatures (3.7 Log GC/g, t(39) = 4.167, p < 0.001), higher N. fowleri detection rates in the overall samples were observed at higher temperatures (>19.1 °C) than at lower temperatures (<19.1 °C).

调查了路易斯安那州庞恰特雷恩湖沉积物样品中阿米巴、福氏纳格莱氏菌的存在情况。这种变形虫具有致病性，可引起原发性阿米巴脑膜脑炎。在这项研究中，定量聚合酶链式反应方法用于检测福氏耐格里菌、HF183和大肠杆菌的流行情况。N. fowleri在我们的沉积物样本中检测到 51.25%。沉积物样本的 Illumina 测序揭示了 10 个不同的门，其中蓝藻在通常具有最高中值福氏杆菌浓度的地点占主导地位。福氏猪笼草然而，与 HF183 呈强烈负相关（r = -0.859，p < 0.001）。每当沉积物大肠杆菌浓度低于 1.54 Log GC/g 时，只有 37.5% 的机会在同一样品中检测到福氏猪瘟。当沉积物中的大肠杆菌浓度超过 2.77 Log GC/g 时，在同一样本中检测到福氏尼氏杆菌的机会增加到 90%，这可能表明变形虫的捕食活动。观察到温度的影响与观察到的福氏猪瘟浓度和检出率有关。尽管在较高温度期间收集的沉积物样本的平均值显着降低N. fowleri浓度 (2.7 Log GC/g) 与在较低温度下收集的浓度 (3.7 Log GC/g, t (39) = 4.167, p < 0.001) 相比，在整个样本中观察到更高的N. fowleri检出率较高的温度 (>19.1 °C) 比较低的温度 (<19.1 °C)。