Vacuolamoeba

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Vacuolamoeba: a single-species amoeba

Vacuolamoeba is a genus of free-living amoebae in the family Acanthamoebidae. It contains only one species, Vacuolamoeba acanthoformis, which was discovered in 2016 in high-altitude soil in Tibet.

The name reflects two features: “Vacuolamoeba” points to large contractile vacuoles, and “acanthoformis” comes from Latin acantho, meaning spine, referring to the spiny, tooth-like extensions (pseudopodia) the cells can form and their resemblance to Acanthamoeba.

What they look like and how they move:
- Irregular-shaped amoebae with pseudopodia in various shapes
- An anterior lamellipodium at the front that is free of cytoplasmic inclusions
- They can form acanthopodial (spiny) extensions from any part of the cell
- Sometimes they create slender filose extensions when moving

Cell structure:
- Most cells have one vesicular nucleus with a central nucleolus; some have two nuclei
- The cell body usually contains about four to five vacuoles, sometimes with one or more contractile vacuoles

Cysts:
- Single-walled, round to irregular in shape
- Usually form individually, not in clusters

Vacuolamoeba acanthoformis details:
- Often uninucleate with a single, round central nucleolus
- Mean cell size about 22.5 micrometers in length or width
- Nucleus diameter about 3.2–5.5 μm; nucleolus about 1.1–2.2 μm
- Cyst diameter about 8.0 μm