title: Detection of Chlamydia infection in Peromyscus species rodents from sylvatic and laboratory sources.
abstract: To determine if Chlamydia muridarum, or other chlamydiae, are enzootic in rodents, we probed a serum bank of wild Peromyscus spp. mice for immunoglobulin G-antibody reactivity to ultraviolet light-inactivated C. muridarum elementary bodies (EBs) using an enzyme-linked immunoassay. Applying a cut-off for a positive reaction of OD(405) nm = 0.1 at a 1:20 dilution, we found titratable antibody reactivity in 190 of 247 specimens surveyed (77%, mean OD(405) = 0.33 ± 0.26, range = 0.11-1.81, median = 0.25). In addition, serum samples were obtained from a colony of specific pathogen-free Peromyscus spp. maintained at the University of South Carolina and six of 12 samples were reactive (50%, mean OD(405) = 0.19 +/- 0.08, range = 0.1-0.32, median = 0.18). Lastly, 40 additional wild Peromyscus spp. were captured in a disparate region of Midwestern USA and 22 serum specimens were reactive (55%, mean OD(405) = 0.22 +/- 0.11, range = 0.1-0.48, median = 0.2). Specificity of selected reactive sera for chlamydial antigen was confirmed on Western blot using resolved purified EBs as the detecting antigen. From tissues removed from several mice at necropsy, the gene for chlamydial 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Positive samples of 16S rRNA were subjected to additional PCR for the major outer membrane protein gene (ompA). The amplicons of three select ompA positive samples were sequenced with ≥99% homology with C. muridarum. Our findings indicate that chlamydial infection is enzootic for Peromyscus spp., and that C. muridarum, or a closely related species or strain, is likely the agent in the tested rodent species.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Immunology Department, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, Illinois, 60515, USA kramse@midwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Kyle H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Ramsey
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Immunology Department, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, Illinois, 60515, USA.
authors.forename: Ira M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Sigar
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Immunology Department, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, Illinois, 60515, USA.
authors.forename: Justin H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Schripsema
authors.affiliation: Anatomy Department, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, 85308, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Townsend
authors.affiliation: Department of the Army, Joliet Training Area, Elwood, Illinois, 60421, USA.
authors.forename: Randall J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.affiliation: Regional Biocontainment Laboratory and the Microbiology and Immunology Department, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, Tennessee, 38163, USA.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Platt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D023502:Chlamydia muridarum / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D007484:Iowa / Q000453:epidemiology; D010542:Peromyscus; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; C078167:OMPA outer membrane proteins
keywords: Chlamydia; Peromyscus; mouse; rodent