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Open research questions in Legionella and Acanthamoeba research

126 gap statements mined from Legionella and Acanthamoeba research papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 427 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on Legionella and Acanthamoeba research? See the ranked Biology journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • The impact of wastewater on the microbiological quality of water was often overlooked during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need to expand the range of bacterial indicators for public health and environmental hygiene. The study aims to address the gap in evaluating the effectiveness of sequencing methods in pre-epidemic studies.

    Re-Emerging Bacterial Pathogens, Resistance Genes and Promising Bioindicators in Raw and Treated Sewage—Addressing a Known Issue from a Different Angle and Perspective · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of approved, effective, and safe treatments for free-living amoebae infections. The challenges of conducting clinical trials for these rare and rapidly lethal diseases. The need for a cost-effective strategy to accelerate therapeutic advances.

    Promising Drug Repurposing Candidates Targeting Free-Living Amoebae: A Systematic and Critical Review of Laboratory-Based Evidence · 2026 · DOI

  • Few studies have investigated the effect of chloramine disinfection on Legionnaires' disease outbreak. The researchers aim to fill this gap by studying the effect of chloramine disinfection on a Legionnaires' disease outbreak in a community water system.

    Effect of Chloramine Disinfection of Community Water System on Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak, Minnesota, USA, 2024 · 2026 · DOI

  • The need to distinguish between autoimmune flare and Legionella pneumonia in patients with similar symptoms.

    Case Report: When muscle edema is not a myositis flare: Legionella pneumonia complicated by rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury in long-standing polymyositis · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of awareness about the risks of using unboiled tap water for nasal rinsing among immunocompromised persons. The need for education on safe nasal rinsing practices to prevent free-living ameba infections. The importance of identifying the link between nasal rinsing and Acanthamoeba infection in immunocompromised patients.

    Acanthamoeba Infection and Nasal Rinsing, United States, 1994–2022 · 2024 · DOI

  • It highlights the need to address the potential for genetic recombination and microevolution of the ST1905 strain. The study also notes the challenge of preventing further disease spread and ensuring public health preparedness.

    Recurrence, Microevolution, and Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Legionella pneumophila Sequence Type 1905, Portugal, 2014–2022 · 2024 · DOI

  • Ectopic expression of Pels in mammalian cells results in distinct membrane localization, yet their subcellular localization and their role in the infection remain unknown.

    Localization of the PelC and PelE effectors to the Legionella -containing vacuole through host-mediated prenylation and their role in intracellular proliferation · 2026 · DOI

  • The Dot/Icm type IV secretion system (T4SS) is essential for Legionella pneumophila infection, but its in situ architecture and mechanism remain incompletely understood.

    In situ molecular organization and heterogeneity of the Legionella Dot/Icm T4SS · 2026 · DOI

  • Waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) represent a sustainable, low-cost wastewater treatment option, yet the ecological dynamics of microeukaryotic communities and their pathogenic potential remain underexplored.

    Spatiotemporal dynamics and potential pathogen fate of microeukaryotic communities in a full-scale waste stabilization pond system · 2025 · DOI

  • Legionella infections are a major global health issue, yet there's limited research on their impact and trends.

    The Global Burden and Trends of Legionella spp. Infection-Associated Diseases from 1990 to 2021: An Observational Study · 2025 · DOI

  • Cyclic peptides exhibit a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities but are underexplored for their antiamoebic activity.

    Cyclic Peptide Natural Product Inspired Inhibitors of the Free-Living Amoeba Balamuthia mandrillaris · 2025 · DOI

  • Innovative approaches to intentionally manipulate the microbial ecology to control Lp have been proposed but remain elusive.

    Retrospective Analysis of Drinking Water Microcosm Microbiomes Reveals an Apparent Antagonistic Relationship between Neochlamydia and Legionella · 2025 · DOI

  • Infections occur in seemingly healthy individuals and effective clinical options are lacking, thus a nearly 98% fatality rate.

    Therapeutic glycan-specific antibody binding mediates protection during primary amoebic meningoencephalitis · 2024 · DOI

  • Yet, how Abs might interact with Naegleria in vivo or contribute to preventing lethal infection is not well understood.

    Therapeutic glycan-specific antibody binding mediates protection during primary amoebic meningoencephalitis · 2024 · DOI

  • Efficacious treatment options for these infections are lacking and the mortality rate remains >95% in the US.

    Enolase inhibitors as therapeutic leads for Naegleria fowleri infection · 2024 · DOI

  • Similarly, host factors that may alleviate cell death induced by these bacterial strains have not yet been investigated.

    Legionella pneumophila exploits the endo-lysosomal network for phagosome biogenesis by co-opting SUMOylated Rab7 · 2024 · DOI

  • The bacterial factor directly responsible for inducing such cell death and the host factor involved in initiating the signaling cascade that leads to lysosome damage remain unknown.

    Legionella pneumophila exploits the endo-lysosomal network for phagosome biogenesis by co-opting SUMOylated Rab7 · 2024 · DOI

  • The lack of standardized treatment has significantly contributed to the high fatality rates observed in reported cases.

    Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Cyanoacrylamides and 5-Iminopyrrol-2-Ones Against Naegleria fowleri · 2024 · DOI

  • Our findings demonstrate an intriguing role of Lpg2444 in mitocytosis and highlight subjects that warrant further investigation in the future.

    RETRACTED: Legionella pneumophila infection reduces the mitochondrial membrane potential through Lpg2444 ‐inhibited mitocytosis · 2024 · DOI

  • The impact of time to effective Legionella-directed therapy on mortality is not well defined.

    Time to Effective Therapy and Mortality in Community-Acquired Legionella Pneumonia: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study · 2026 · DOI

  • T4bSS are well known to translocate soluble as well as transmembrane domain-containing effector proteins (TMD-effectors) but the mechanisms of secretion are still poorly understood.

    The T4bSS of Legionella features a two-step secretion pathway with an inner membrane intermediate for secretion of transmembrane effectors · 2024 · DOI

  • Further studies on the effectiveness of sequencing methods in pre-epidemic studies, - Investigation of the cycling of genetic information in sewage, - Development of new markers for population well-being…

    Re-Emerging Bacterial Pathogens, Resistance Genes and Promising Bioindicators in Raw and Treated Sewage—Addressing a Known Issue from a Different Angle and Perspective · 2026 · DOI

  • Further evaluation of the 166 compounds that showed substantial trophocidal activity, - Investigation of the potential of drug-repurposing for the treatment of FLA infections, - Development of new drugs from synthetic compounds…

    Promising Drug Repurposing Candidates Targeting Free-Living Amoebae: A Systematic and Critical Review of Laboratory-Based Evidence · 2026 · DOI

  • Causation cannot be determined using these data, - Survival beyond the date of report cannot be confirmed, - Information regarding nasal rinsing practices were limited for some cases, - The small number of cases did not enable thorough assessment of practices that may be considered to increase risk…

    Acanthamoeba Infection and Nasal Rinsing, United States, 1994–2022 · 2024 · DOI

  • Further studies are needed to investigate the effect of different disinfection methods on Legionella growth, - Research is needed to develop more effective methods for monitoring and controlling Legionella growth in community water systems, - Studies should be conducted to examine the effect of chloramine disinfection on Legionella growth in different types of water…

    Effect of Chloramine Disinfection of Community Water System on Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak, Minnesota, USA, 2024 · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Legionella and Acanthamoeba research

Most recent work

Find a gap in your own Legionella and Acanthamoeba research sub-topic

This page shows what the Legionella and Acanthamoeba research literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, search the Research Gap Finder: the search is free with a free account and lists the papers closest to your topic first. Unlocking that topic (50 credits, charged once) fills the comparison table from our 4.5M-paper local library and writes the gaps from its rows.

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) There is a need to expand the range of bacterial indicators for public health and environmental hygiene (“Re-Emerging Bacterial Pathogens, Resistance Genes and Promising Bioindicators…”, 2026); (2) The lack of approved, effective, and safe treatments for free-living amoebae infections (“Promising Drug Repurposing Candidates Targeting Free-Living Amoebae: A…”, 2026); (3) Ectopic expression of Pels in mammalian cells results in distinct membrane localization, yet their subcellular localization and their role in the infection remain unknown (“Localization of the PelC and PelE effectors to the Legionella -containing…”, 2026); (4) The Dot/Icm type IV secretion system (T4SS) is essential for Legionella pneumophila infection, but its in situ architecture and mechanism remain incompletely understood (“In situ molecular organization and heterogeneity of the Legionella Dot/Icm T4SS”, 2026); (5) Waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) represent a sustainable, low-cost wastewater treatment option, yet the ecological dynamics of microeukaryotic communities and their pathogenic potential remain underexplored (“Spatiotemporal dynamics and potential pathogen fate of microeukaryotic…”, 2025). 126 gap statements have been mined from Legionella and Acanthamoeba research papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 427 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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