Abstract
An obligate intracellular bacterium was isolated from urine samples from 7 (3.5%) of 202 fruit bats (Eonycteris spelaea) in peninsular Malaysia. The bacterium produced large membrane-bound inclusions in human, simian, and rodent cell lines, including epithelial, fibroblastlike, and lymphoid cells. Thin-section electron microscopy showed reticulate bodies dividing by binary fission and elementary bodies in the inclusions; mitochondria surrounded the inclusions. The inclusions were positive for periodic acid-Schiff stain but could not be stained by fluorescein-labeled anti-Chlamydia trachomatis major outer membrane protein monoclonal antibody. The bacterium was resistant to penicillin and streptomycin (MICs > 256 mg/L) but susceptible to tetracycline (MIC = 0.25 mg/L) and chloramphenicol (MIC = 0.5 mg/L). Sequence analysis of the 16SrRNA gene indicated that it was most closely related to 2 isolates of Waddlia chondrophila (94% and 96% identity). The 16S and 23S rRNA gene signatures were only 91% identical. We propose this novel bacterium be called W. malaysiensis.
Highlights
An obligate intracellular bacterium was isolated from urine samples from 7 (3.5%) of 202 fruit bats (Eonycteris spelaea) in peninsular Malaysia
We describe the isolation and characterization of this novel bacterium and propose that it be given the name Waddlia malaysiensis since it was first isolated in Malaysia
A suggestion to revise and update their classification has been made [21]. This revision was based on comparisons of 16S rRNA and 23S rRNA genes, and it split the Chalmydiales into 4 families, Chlamydiaceae, Simkaniaceae, Parachlamydiaceae, and a family named Waddliaceae [20], which has W. chondrophila as the prime member (Table 2)
Summary
An obligate intracellular bacterium was isolated from urine samples from 7 (3.5%) of 202 fruit bats (Eonycteris spelaea) in peninsular Malaysia. As part of an investigation into the reservoir of Nipah virus in Malaysia [8,9,15], a novel chlamydialike bacterium was isolated from the urine of Eonycteris spelaea; the Lesser Dawn Bat [16]. This bat is a generalist nectivore that travels tens of kilometers from its cave-roosting sites to feed [16].
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