| Summary: | <i>Acanthamoeba castellanii</i> is a ubiquitous free-living amoeba. Pathogenic strains are causative agents of <i>Acanthamoeba</i> keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. In response to adverse conditions, <i>A. castellanii</i> differentiate into cysts, which are metabolically inactive and resistant cells. This process, also named encystment, involves biochemical and genetic modifications that remain largely unknown. This study characterizes the role of the <i>ACA1_384820</i> <i>Acanthamoeba</i> gene during encystment. This gene encodes a putative N-acetyltransferase, belonging to the Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) family. We showed that expression of the <i>ACA1_384820</i> gene was down-regulated as early as two hours after induction of encystment in <i>A. castellanii</i>. Interestingly, overexpression of the <i>ACA1_384820 </i>gene affects formation of cysts. Unexpectedly, the search of homologs of <i>ACA1_384820</i> in the Eukaryota gene datasets failed, except for some species in the <i>Acanthamoeba </i>genus. Bioinformatics analysis suggested a possible lateral acquisition of this gene from prokaryotic cells. This study enabled us to describe a new <i>Acanthamoeba</i> gene that is down-regulated during encystment.
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