title: Evaluation of the relationship between Chlamydia pecorum sequence types and disease using a species-specific multi-locus sequence typing scheme (MLST).
abstract: Chlamydia pecorum is globally associated with several ovine diseases including keratoconjunctivitis and polyarthritis. The exact relationship between the variety of C. pecorum strains reported and the diseases described in sheep remains unclear, challenging efforts to accurately diagnose and manage infected flocks. In the present study, we applied C. pecorum multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) to C. pecorum positive samples collected from sympatric flocks of Australian sheep presenting with conjunctivitis, conjunctivitis with polyarthritis, or polyarthritis only and with no clinical disease (NCD) in order to elucidate the exact relationships between the infecting strains and the range of diseases. Using Bayesian phylogenetic and cluster analyses on 62 C. pecorum positive ocular, vaginal and rectal swab samples from sheep presenting with a range of diseases and in a comparison to C. pecorum sequence types (STs) from other hosts, one ST (ST 23) was recognised as a globally distributed strain associated with ovine and bovine diseases such as polyarthritis and encephalomyelitis. A second ST (ST 69) presently only described in Australian animals, was detected in association with ovine as well as koala chlamydial infections. The majority of vaginal and rectal C. pecorum STs from animals with NCD and/or anatomical sites with no clinical signs of disease in diseased animals, clustered together in a separate group, by both analyses. Furthermore, 8/13 detected STs were novel. This study provides a platform for strain selection for further research into the pathogenic potential of C. pecorum in animals and highlights targets for potential strain-specific diagnostic test development.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia; Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland , 4556 Australia.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jelocnik
authors.affiliation: Central West Local Land Services, Dubbo, NSW 2830, Australia; Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland , 4556 Australia.
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pannekoek
authors.affiliation: North West Local Land Services, Narrabri & Walgett, NSW 2390, Australia.
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ellem
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia; Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland , 4556 Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Timms
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia; Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland , 4556 Australia. Electronic address: apolking@usc.edu.au.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Polkinghorne
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D002689:Chlamydia / Q000235:genetics*; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D009517:New South Wales; D048368:Phascolarctidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D034561:Sheep, Domestic; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Chlamydia pecorum; Conjunctivitis; MLST; Polyarthritis; Sheep