War of the microbial worlds: Who is the beneficiary in Acanthamoeba-bacterial interactions?

Acanthamoeba hosts diverse microbial organisms including viruses, bacteria, yeast and protists, some of which are potential human pathogens. The precise nature of this symbiosis is not clear, but it is suggested that such interactions enable pathogenic microbes to survive hostile conditions and lead to their transmission to susceptible hosts to establish infection. In particular, Acanthamoeba-bacteria interactions have gained significant attention by the scientific and the medical community and have led to speculations of employing anti-amoebic approaches in eradicating 'superbugs' from clinical settings. Here, we discuss the nature of these convoluted interactions and the benefit they represent for the symbionts. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.