title: Comparative genomic analysis of human Chlamydia pneumoniae isolates from respiratory, brain and cardiac tissues.
abstract: Chlamydia pneumoniae is an obligate intracellular bacterium implicated in a wide range of human diseases including atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Efforts to understand the relationships between C. pneumoniae detected in these diseases have been hindered by the availability of sequence data for non-respiratory strains. In this study, we sequenced the whole genomes for C. pneumoniae isolates from atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, and compared these to previously published C. pneumoniae genomes. Phylogenetic analyses of these new C. pneumoniae strains indicate two sub-groups within human C. pneumoniae, and suggest that both recombination and mutation events have driven the evolution of human C. pneumoniae. Further fine-detailed analyses of these new C. pneumoniae sequences show several genetically variable loci. This suggests that similar strains of C. pneumoniae are found in the brain, lungs and cardiovascular system and that only minor genetic differences may contribute to the adaptation of particular strains in human disease.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Eileen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Roulis
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, Health, Education & Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Nathan L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Bachmann
authors.affiliation: i3 Institute, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Garry S A
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Wilhelmina
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huston
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville, Division of Infectious Diseases, Louisville, KY, United States.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Summersgill
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States.
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Dreses-Werringloer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia; Faculty of Science, Health, Education & Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Polkinghorne
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia; Faculty of Science, Health, Education & Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Timms
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000382:microbiology; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000382:microbiology; D001921:Brain / Q000382:microbiology; D023521:Chlamydophila Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods*; D006321:Heart / Q000382:microbiology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000382:microbiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods*; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Cardiovascular; Chlamydia pneumoniae; Comparative genomics; Evolution; Recombination