A new species of Chlamydia isolated from Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis).

Somjit Chaiwattanarungruengpaisan,Metawee Thongdee,Apichart Punchukrang,Songtham Anuntakarun,Thassanant Atithep,Pongrama Ramasoota,Sunchai Payungporn,Ladawan Sariya,Nlin Arya,Sombat Singhakaew,Lloyd Vaughan

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252081

Somjit Chaiwattanarungruengpaisan, Metawee Thongdee + Show 9 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252081

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Abstract

Chlamydia is a known pathogen in both saltwater and freshwater crocodiles. However, the exact species/strain has not been clearly identified. In this study, we successfully cultivated Siamese crocodile Chlamydia in McCoy cells at a temperature of 30°C. Electron microscopy; phylogeny based on nine conserved taxonomically informative markers, on ompA, or on seven housekeeping genes; and whole-genome sequencing and analysis of the isolate confirmed the identity of the isolate as a new member of the genus Chlamydia, a new species that we name Chlamydia crocodili.

Highlights

The family Chlamydiaceae is composed of a single genus, Chlamydia, containing 15 known species (C. abortus, C. avium, C. buteonis, C. caviae, C. felis, C. gallinacean, C. ibidis, C. muridarum, C. percorum, C. pneumonia, C. poikilothermis, C. psittaci, C. serpentis, C. suis, and C. trachomatis) and 2 Candidatus species
Molecular evidence based on 16S ribosomal RNA, the 16S/23S rRNA gene, and the major outer membrane protein gene demonstrated that this outbreak was due to a novel species of Chlamydia [8]
These results indicated that the Chlamydia could infect and multiply in McCoy cells

Summary

Introduction

The family Chlamydiaceae is composed of a single genus, Chlamydia, containing 15 known species (C. abortus, C. avium, C. buteonis, C. caviae, C. felis, C. gallinacean, C. ibidis, C. muridarum, C. percorum, C. pneumonia, C. poikilothermis, C. psittaci, C. serpentis, C. suis, and C. trachomatis) and 2 Candidatus species (Ca. C. corallus and Ca. C. sanzinia) [1,2,3,4]. In crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus and C. porosus), Chlamydia was previously reported in South Africa and Papua New Guinea [6, 7]. The species/strain of this Chlamydia has not been clarified. In Thailand, the first outbreak of Chlamydia in Siamese crocodiles (C. siamensis) was reported in 2012 [8]. Molecular evidence based on 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), the 16S/23S rRNA gene, and the major outer membrane protein (ompA) gene demonstrated that this outbreak was due to a novel species of Chlamydia [8].

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Conclusion