title: [Microbiological diagnosis of infections due to Chlamydia spp. and related species].
abstract: Until recently the number of completed genomes belonging to Chlamydia trachomatis was very low, despite its importance in Public Health. Now, there are currently sixty-six completed genomes of C.trachomatis sequenced in different parts of the world. This genomic revolution has helped in understanding its biology, as well as improved the sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis, and the development of epidemiological tools, not only for in C.trachomatis, but also for related species such as C.pneumoniae and C.psittaci. The diagnosis based on cell culture, serology and microimmunofluorescence is gradually being replaced by molecular techniques based on PCR or real-time PCR. This is because these molecular tests do not have cross-reactions problems and the procedures are easily standardised between laboratories. Moreover, molecular epidemiology tools described recently, such as Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) and Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR), have increased our knowledge on local and global epidemiology. This article focuses on the impact of the genomics advances achieved over the last few years as applied to the diagnosis, epidemiology and biology of the family Chlamydiaceae family and related species.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Microbiología y CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS), Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Domínguez
authors.affiliation: Área de Microbiología, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, España.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sanbonmatsu
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Murcia, España.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salinas
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Microbiología y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Área de Microbiología, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, España; Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Microbiología y CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS), Madrid, España; Unidad de Resistencia a Antibióticos y Virulencia Bacteriana (RYC-CSIC), Madrid, España. Electronic address: jgalanm.hrc@salud.madrid.org.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Galán
mesh_terms: D002689:Chlamydia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans
keywords: Chlamydia diagnosis; Chlamydia typing; Completed genome; Diagnóstico de Chlamydiae; Genomas completos; Tipificación de Chlamydiae