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Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Rapid One-step Enzymatic Synthesis and All-aqueous Purification of Trehalose Analogues
Published on: February 17, 2017
Trehalose During Two Stress Responses in Acanthamoeba: Differentiation Between Encystation and Pseudocyst Formation
Eva Bínová1, David Bína2, David A Ashford3
1Institute of Immunology and Microbiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General Faculty Hospital, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic.
Abstract:
The non-reducing disaccharide trehalose can serve as a protectant against a range of environmental stressors, such as heat, cold, or dehydration, in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, with the exception of vertebrates. Here, we analyzed trehalose metabolism in the facultatively parasitic organism Acanthamoeba castellanii, known to respond to unfavorable external conditions by forming two resistant stages: a cyst, produced in the case of chronic stress, and a pseudocyst, formed in reaction to acute stress. The possible role of trehalose in the resistant stages was investigated using a combination of bioinformatic, molecular biological and biochemical approaches. Genes for enzymes from a widespread trehalose-6-synthase-trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase (TPS-TPP) pathway and a prokaryotic trehalose synthase (TreS) pathway were identified. The expression patterns of the genes during encystation and pseudocyst formation were analyzed and correlated with the time course of cellular trehalose content determined mass spectrometrically. The data clearly demonstrate fundamental differences between encystation and pseudocyst formation at the level of cellular metabolism.
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