title: Illuminating the evolutionary history of chlamydiae.
abstract: Chlamydiae are the major cause of preventable blindness and sexually transmitted disease. Genome analysis of a chlamydia-related symbiont of free-living amoebae revealed that it is twice as large as any of the pathogenic chlamydiae and had few signs of recent lateral gene acquisition. We showed that about 700 million years ago the last common ancestor of pathogenic and symbiotic chlamydiae was already adapted to intracellular survival in early eukaryotes and contained many virulence factors found in modern pathogenic chlamydiae, including a type III secretion system. Ancient chlamydiae appear to be the originators of mechanisms for the exploitation of eukaryotic cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Conservation Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria. horn@microbial-ecology.net
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horn
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Collingro
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmitz-Esser
authors.forename: Cora L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Beier
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Purkhold
authors.forename: Berthold
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fartmann
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: Gerald J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Nyakatura
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Droege
authors.forename: Dmitrij
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Frishman
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rattei
authors.forename: Hans-Werner
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Mewes
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry; D002689:Chlamydia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002695:Chlamydiales / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity; D023501:Chlamydophila / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004579:Electron Transport; D023061:Gene Order; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D033704:Nucleotide Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D013559:Symbiosis; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D033704:Nucleotide Transport Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors