title: The Chlamydophila abortus genome sequence reveals an array of variable proteins that contribute to interspecies variation.
abstract: The obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen Chlamydophila abortus strain S26/3 (formerly the abortion subtype of Chlamydia psittaci) is an important cause of late gestation abortions in ruminants and pigs. Furthermore, although relatively rare, zoonotic infection can result in acute illness and miscarriage in pregnant women. The complete genome sequence was determined and shows a high level of conservation in both sequence and overall gene content in comparison to other Chlamydiaceae. The 1,144,377-bp genome contains 961 predicted coding sequences, 842 of which are conserved with those of Chlamydophila caviae and Chlamydophila pneumoniae. Within this conserved Cp. abortus core genome we have identified the major regions of variation and have focused our analysis on these loci, several of which were found to encode highly variable protein families, such as TMH/Inc and Pmp families, which are strong candidates for the source of diversity in host tropism and disease causation in this group of organisms. Significantly, Cp. abortus lacks any toxin genes, and also lacks genes involved in tryptophan metabolism and nucleotide salvaging (guaB is present as a pseudogene), suggesting that the genetic basis of niche adaptation of this species is distinct from those previously proposed for other chlamydial species.
authors.affiliation: The Pathogen Sequencing Unit, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, United Kingdom. nrt@sanger.ac.uk
authors.forename: Nicholas R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Corin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yeats
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Matthew T G
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Holden
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.forename: Morag
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Livingstone
authors.forename: Ana M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cerdeño-Tárraga
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doggett
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ormond
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mungall
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Feltwell
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hance
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Quail
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Bart G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Barrell
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parkhill
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Longbottom
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D023501:Chlamydophila / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D019295:Computational Biology; D017124:Conserved Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D017931:DNA Primers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011544:Pseudogenes / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D008565:Membrane Proteins