Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Co-evolution of genomes and plasmids within Chlamydia trachomatis and the emergence in Sweden of a new variant strain

Seth-Smith, Helena M. B. ; Harris, Simon R. ; Persson, Kenneth LU ; Marsh, Pete ; Barron, Andrew ; Bignell, Alexandra ; Bjartling, Carina LU ; Clark, Louise ; Cutcliffe, Lesley T. and Lambden, Paul R. , et al. (2009) In BMC Genomics 10.
Abstract
Background: Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common cause of sexually transmitted infections globally and the leading cause of preventable blindness in the developing world. There are two biovariants of C trachomatis: 'trachoma', causing ocular and genital tract infections, and the invasive 'lymphogranuloma venereum' strains. Recently, a new variant of the genital tract C trachomatis emerged in Sweden. This variant escaped routine diagnostic tests because it carries a plasmid with a deletion. Failure to detect this strain has meant it has spread rapidly across the country provoking a worldwide alert. In addition to being a key diagnostic target, the plasmid has been linked to chlamydial virulence. Analysis of chlamydial plasmids and their... (More)
Background: Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common cause of sexually transmitted infections globally and the leading cause of preventable blindness in the developing world. There are two biovariants of C trachomatis: 'trachoma', causing ocular and genital tract infections, and the invasive 'lymphogranuloma venereum' strains. Recently, a new variant of the genital tract C trachomatis emerged in Sweden. This variant escaped routine diagnostic tests because it carries a plasmid with a deletion. Failure to detect this strain has meant it has spread rapidly across the country provoking a worldwide alert. In addition to being a key diagnostic target, the plasmid has been linked to chlamydial virulence. Analysis of chlamydial plasmids and their cognate chromosomes was undertaken to provide insights into the evolutionary relationship between chromosome and plasmid. This is essential knowledge if the plasmid is to be continued to be relied on as a key diagnostic marker, and for an understanding of the evolution of Chlamydia trachomatis. Results: The genomes of two new C trachomatis strains were sequenced, together with plasmids from six C trachomatis isolates, including the new variant strain from Sweden. The plasmid from the new Swedish variant has a 377 bp deletion in the first predicted coding sequence, abolishing the site used for PCR detection, resulting in negative diagnosis. In addition, the variant plasmid has a 44 bp duplication downstream of the deletion. The region containing the second predicted coding sequence is the most highly conserved region of the plasmids investigated. Phylogenetic analysis of the plasmids and chromosomes are fully congruent. Moreover this analysis also shows that ocular and genital strains diverged from a common C trachomatis progenitor. Conclusion: The evolutionary pathways of the chlamydial genome and plasmid imply that inheritance of the plasmid is tightly linked with its cognate chromosome. These data suggest that the plasmid is not a highly mobile genetic element and does not transfer readily between isolates. Comparative analysis of the plasmid sequences has revealed the most conserved regions that should be used to design future plasmid based nucleic acid amplification tests, to avoid diagnostic failures. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
BMC Genomics
volume
10
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • wos:000267736300002
  • scopus:67649114038
  • pmid:19460133
ISSN
1471-2164
DOI
10.1186/1471-2164-10-239
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b83b14c3-bc8b-4cf6-ac57-7d1e21471c4f (old id 1463400)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:07:00
date last changed
2022-04-29 18:23:45
@article{b83b14c3-bc8b-4cf6-ac57-7d1e21471c4f,
  abstract     = {{Background: Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common cause of sexually transmitted infections globally and the leading cause of preventable blindness in the developing world. There are two biovariants of C trachomatis: 'trachoma', causing ocular and genital tract infections, and the invasive 'lymphogranuloma venereum' strains. Recently, a new variant of the genital tract C trachomatis emerged in Sweden. This variant escaped routine diagnostic tests because it carries a plasmid with a deletion. Failure to detect this strain has meant it has spread rapidly across the country provoking a worldwide alert. In addition to being a key diagnostic target, the plasmid has been linked to chlamydial virulence. Analysis of chlamydial plasmids and their cognate chromosomes was undertaken to provide insights into the evolutionary relationship between chromosome and plasmid. This is essential knowledge if the plasmid is to be continued to be relied on as a key diagnostic marker, and for an understanding of the evolution of Chlamydia trachomatis. Results: The genomes of two new C trachomatis strains were sequenced, together with plasmids from six C trachomatis isolates, including the new variant strain from Sweden. The plasmid from the new Swedish variant has a 377 bp deletion in the first predicted coding sequence, abolishing the site used for PCR detection, resulting in negative diagnosis. In addition, the variant plasmid has a 44 bp duplication downstream of the deletion. The region containing the second predicted coding sequence is the most highly conserved region of the plasmids investigated. Phylogenetic analysis of the plasmids and chromosomes are fully congruent. Moreover this analysis also shows that ocular and genital strains diverged from a common C trachomatis progenitor. Conclusion: The evolutionary pathways of the chlamydial genome and plasmid imply that inheritance of the plasmid is tightly linked with its cognate chromosome. These data suggest that the plasmid is not a highly mobile genetic element and does not transfer readily between isolates. Comparative analysis of the plasmid sequences has revealed the most conserved regions that should be used to design future plasmid based nucleic acid amplification tests, to avoid diagnostic failures.}},
  author       = {{Seth-Smith, Helena M. B. and Harris, Simon R. and Persson, Kenneth and Marsh, Pete and Barron, Andrew and Bignell, Alexandra and Bjartling, Carina and Clark, Louise and Cutcliffe, Lesley T. and Lambden, Paul R. and Lennard, Nicola and Lockey, Sarah J. and Quail, Michael A. and Salim, Omar and Skilton, Rachel J. and Wang, Yibing and Holland, Martin J. and Parkhill, Julian and Thomson, Nicholas R. and Clarke, Ian N.}},
  issn         = {{1471-2164}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Genomics}},
  title        = {{Co-evolution of genomes and plasmids within Chlamydia trachomatis and the emergence in Sweden of a new variant strain}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-10-239}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/1471-2164-10-239}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}