Chlamydophila caviae

Chlamydophila caviae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Bacteria
Phylum:	Chlamydiae
Order:	Chlamydiales
Family:	Chlamydiaceae
Genus:	Chlamydophila
Species:	C. caviae[1]

Chlamydophila caviae is a bacterium that can be recovered from the conjunctiva of Guinea pigs suffering from ocular inflammation and eye discharge. It is also possible to infect the genital tract of Guinea pigs with C. caviae and elicit a disease that is very similar to human Chlamydia trachomatis infection. C. caviae infects primarily the mucosal epithelium and is not invasive.

C. caviae is markedly specific for Guinea pigs, as attempts to infect mice, hamsters, rabbits and gerbils have been unsuccessful, except for one experimentally infected gerbil. The five known C. caviae isolates are indistinguishable, based on ompA gene sequence.

Genome structure

C. caviae has a relativelly small genome that contains 1.17 Mbp with 998 protein coding genes. Additionally, C. caviae strain GPIC contains an extrachromosomal plasmid, pCpGP1. ^[2]

References

1. Everett, K. D. E.; Bush, R. M.; Andersen, A. A. (1999). "Emended description of the order Chlamydiales, proposal of Parachlamydiaceae fam. nov. and Simkaniaceae fam. nov., each containing one monotypic genus, revised taxonomy of the family Chlamydiaceae, including a new genus and five new species, and standards for the identification of organisms". International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. 49 (2): 415–440. doi:10.1099/00207713-49-2-415. ISSN 0020-7713. PMID 10319462.
2. Read, TD.; Myers, GS.; Brunham, RC.; Nelson, WC.; Paulsen, IT.; Heidelberg, J.; Holtzapple, E.; Khouri, H.; et al. (Apr 2003). "Genome sequence of Chlamydophila caviae (Chlamydia psittaci GPIC): examining the role of niche-specific genes in the evolution of the Chlamydiaceae". Nucleic Acids Res. 31 (8): 2134–47. doi:10.1093/nar/gkg321. PMC 153749. PMID 12682364.

External links

• Chlamydiae.com
• Type strain of Chlamydophila caviae at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase

Further reading

• Gaede, Wolfgang; Reckling, Karl-Friedrich; Schliephake, Anette; Missal, Dirk; Hotzel, Helmut; Sachse, Konrad (19 May 2010). "Detection of Chlamydophila caviae and Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemicus in horses with signs of rhinitis and conjunctivitis". Veterinary microbiology. 142 (3-4): 440-444. doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.10.011.
• Pantchev, Alexandra; Sting, Reinhard; Bauerfeind, Rolf; Tyczka, Judith; Sachse, Konrad (December 2010). "Detection of all Chlamydophila and Chlamydia spp. of veterinary interest using species-specific real-time PCR assays". Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 33 (6): 473–484. doi:10.1016/j.cimid.2009.08.002.