Chlamydia muridarum explained

Chlamydia muridarum is an intracellular bacterial species that at one time belonged to Chlamydia trachomatis. However, C. trachomatis naturally only infects humans and C. muridarum naturally infects only members of the family Muridae (includes both mice and hamsters, Alderton, 1996).

Two strains of Chlamydia muridarum, MoPn (originally named Nigg) and SFPD,^[1] have been isolated from mice and hamsters. Glycogen production by both strains has been demonstrated. The chromosome and extrachromosomal plasmid of MoPn have been sequenced.

Chlamydia muridarum MoPn binds mAbs recognizing Chlamydia trachomatis MOMP vs4 core epitope (T) LNPT (IA).^[2] DNA sequence analysis indicates that these mAbs should recognize SFPD and that Chlamydia trachomatis B-serogroup mAbs specific for the vs4 epitope IAGAG should recognize SFPD.^[3] MoPn was isolated in 1942 from the lungs of asymptomatic albino Swiss mice and was subsequently shown to be capable of producing disease in mice.^[4] SFPD was obtained from a hamster, concurrent with a causative agent of proliferative ileitis. MoPn has been shown to be sensitive to sulfadiazine. In contrast to Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydia muridarum lacks a tryptophan operon.^[5] Due to this, Chlamydia muridarum responds to interferon gamma (IFN-γ) differently than Chlamydia trachomatis, which effects the degree to which the two different Chlamydia strains are inhibited in infected mice and humans, respectively.^{[6] [7]}

Genome structure

The genome of several strains has been sequenced.^[8]

Further reading

• Caldwell. Harlan D.. Sturdevant. Gail L.. Innate immunity is sufficient for the clearance of Chlamydia trachomatis from the female mouse genital tract. Pathogens and Disease. October 2014. 72. 1. 70–73. 10.1111/2049-632X.12164. 24585717. 4152394.
• Campbell. Jessica. Huang. Yumeng. Liu. Yuanjun. Schenken. Robert. Arulanandam. Bernard. Zhong. Guangming. Guangming Zhong. Bioluminescence Imaging of Chlamydia muridarum Ascending Infection in Mice. PLOS ONE. July 1, 2014. 10.1371/journal.pone.0101634. 24983626. 4077820. 9. 7. e101634. 2014PLoSO...9j1634C. free.

External links

• Type strain of Chlamydia muridarum at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase

Notes and References

1. Zhang . YX. . Fox . JG. . Ho . Y. . Zhang . L. . Stills . HF. . Smith . TF. . Comparison of the major outer-membrane protein (MOMP) gene of mouse pneumonitis (MoPn) and hamster SFPD strains of Chlamydia trachomatis with other Chlamydia strains. . Mol Biol Evol . 10 . 6 . 1327–42 . Nov 1993 . 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040079. 8277858 . free .
2. Peterson . EM. . Cheng . X. . Markoff . BA. . Fielder . TJ. . de la Maza . LM. . Functional and structural mapping of Chlamydia trachomatis species-specific major outer membrane protein epitopes by use of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. . Infect Immun . 59 . 11 . 4147–53 . Nov 1991 . 10.1128/IAI.59.11.4147-4153.1991. 1718870 . 259009.
3. Batteiger . BE. . Lin . PM. . Jones . RB. . Van Der Pol . BJ. . Species-, serogroup-, and serovar-specific epitopes are juxtaposed in variable sequence region 4 of the major outer membrane proteins of some Chlamydia trachomatis serovars. . Infect Immun . 64 . 7 . 2839–41 . Jul 1996 . 10.1128/IAI.64.7.2839-2841.1996. 8698520 . 174151.
4. Nigg . C. . An Unidentified Virus Which Produces Pneumonia and Systemic Infection in Mice . Science . 95 . 2454 . 49–50 . Jan 1942 . 10.1126/science.95.2454.49-a . 17773453 . 1942Sci....95...49N . 34446808 .
5. Farris. Christina M.. Morrison. Richard P.. Mar 2011. Andrews-Polymenis. H. L.. Vaccination against Chlamydia Genital Infection Utilizing the Murine C. muridarum Model. Infection and Immunity. en. 79. 3. 986–996. 10.1128/IAI.00881-10. 21078844. 0019-9567. 3067520.
6. Farris. Christina M.. Morrison. Richard P.. Mar 2011. Andrews-Polymenis. H. L.. Vaccination against Chlamydia Genital Infection Utilizing the Murine C. muridarum Model. Infection and Immunity. en. 79. 3. 986–996. 10.1128/IAI.00881-10. 21078844. 0019-9567. 3067520.
7. Book: Molecular Medical Microbiology. 2015. Elsevier. 9780123971692. en. 10.1016/c2010-1-67744-9.
8. Nucleic Acids Res . 28 . 1397–406 . 2000 . Read TD . Genome sequences of Chlamydia trachomatis MoPn and Chlamydia pneumoniae AR39 . 10684935 . 10.1093/nar/28.6.1397 . 6 . 111046 . vanc . 1 . Brunham . RC . Shen . C . Gill . SR . Heidelberg . JF . White . O . Hickey . EK . Peterson . J . Utterback . T .