title: Phylogenetic analysis of Chlamydia trachomatis Tarp and correlation with clinical phenotype.
abstract: Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide and is the most commonly reported pathogen causing sexually transmitted infections. Tarp (translocated actin recruiting phosphoprotein), a type III secreted effector that mediates actin nucleation, is central to C. trachomatis infection. The phylogenetic analysis of tarP from reference strains as well as ocular, genital, and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) clinical isolates demonstrated an evolutionary relationship with disease phenotype, with LGV and ocular isolates branched into clades that were separate from the urogenital isolates. The sequence analysis of Tarp indicated a high degree of variability and identified trends within clinical groupings. Tarps from LGV strains contained the highest number of tyrosine-rich repeat regions (up to nine) and the fewest (two) predicted actin binding domains. The converse was noted for Tarp proteins from ocular isolates that contained up to four actin binding domains and as few as one tyrosine-rich repeat region. The results suggest that Tarp is among the few known genes to play a role in C. trachomatis adaptations to specific niches within the host.
authors.affiliation: Host-Parasite Interactions Section, Laboratory of Intracellular Parasites, NIAID, NIH, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th St., Hamilton, MT 59840, USA.
authors.forename: Erika I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Lutter
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bonner
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Suchland
authors.forename: Walter E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Stamm
authors.forename: Travis J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Jewett
authors.forename: Grant
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McClarty
authors.forename: Ted
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hackstadt
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D018272:Porins / Q000235:genetics; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D020449:Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018272:Porins; C071677:omp1 protein, Chlamydia trachomatis