Highlight Activities 2021: A new species of Chlamydia isolated from Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis)
A new species of Chlamydia isolated from Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis)
Somjit Chaiwattanarungruengpaisan , Metawee Thongdee , Songtham Anuntakarun , Sunchai Payungporn, Nlin Arya , Apichart Punchukrang , Pongrama Ramasoota , Sombat Singhakaew , Thassanant Atithep , Ladawan Sariya
Abstract
Chlamydia is a known pathogen in both saltwater and freshwater crocodiles. However, the exact species/strain has not been clearly identified. In this study, we successfully cultivated Siamese crocodile Chlamydia in McCoy cells at a temperature of 30°C. Electron microscopy; phylogeny based on nine conserved taxonomically informative markers, on ompA, or on seven housekeeping genes; and whole-genome sequencing and analysis of the isolate confirmed the identity of the isolate as a new member of the genus Chlamydia, a new species that we name Chlamydia crocodili.
Reference:
Chaiwattanarungruengpaisan S, Thongdee M, Anuntakarun S, Payungporn S, Arya N, Punchukrang A, et al. (2021) A new species of Chlamydia isolated from Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis). PLoS ONE 16(5): e0252081. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252081