Abstract
Waddlia chondrophila is an intracellular bacterium phylogenetically related to the well-studied human and animal pathogens of the Chlamydiaceae family. In the last decade, W. chondrophila was convincingly demonstrated to be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in humans and abortions in animals. All members of the phylum Chlamydiae possess a Type Three Secretion System that they use for delivering virulence proteins into the host cell cytosol to modulate their environment and create optimal conditions to complete their life cycle. To identify W. chondrophila virulence proteins, we used an original screening approach that combines a cosmid library with an assay monitoring resistance to predation by phagocytic amoebae. This technique combined with bioinformatic data allowed the identification of 28 candidate virulence proteins, including Wimp1, the first identified inclusion membrane protein of W. chondrophila.
Highlights
Waddlia chondrophila is an intracellular bacterium phylogenetically related to the well-studied human and animal pathogens of the Chlamydiaceae family
Twenty-eight candidate virulence proteins were identified using this cosmid library screening (Supplementary Table S1) including Macrophage Infectivity Potentiator (Mip) (Wcw_0028), a conserved virulence factor encoded on the genome of all members of the Chlamydiae, demonstrating the pertinence of this approach to identify virulence proteins of W. chondrophila
We identified putative new virulence proteins, including a protein belonging to an uncharacterized protein family that includes a number of plasmid-encoded virulence proteins (Wcw_0023, Pfam uncharacterized protein family UPF0137), a homolog of the Type IV secreted protein Hcp (Wcw_0936), a hemolysin (Wcw_1828) and a hydrolase (Wcw_1835)
Summary
Waddlia chondrophila is an intracellular bacterium phylogenetically related to the well-studied human and animal pathogens of the Chlamydiaceae family. Waddlia chondrophila is an obligate intracellular bacterium belonging to the phylum Chlamydiae This phylum comprises the Chlamydiaceae family including several well-studied human and animal pathogens such as Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydia psittaci in addition to several other families of Chlamydia-related bacteria. As a strict intracellular organism, W. chondrophila closely interacts with its host cell in order to create optimal conditions for the completion of its life cycle For this purpose, it secretes virulence proteins or effector molecules into the host cell cytoplasm, mainly via its Type 3 Secretion System (T3SS). Incs play structural roles and are important in enabling homotypic fusion of inclusions or for maintaining the stability of the inclusion membrane[31,32]
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