HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hsia, R.-c. Articles by Bavoil, P. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hsia, R.-c. Articles by Bavoil, P. M. Agricola Articles by Hsia, R.-c. Articles by Bavoil, P. M.

Microvirus of Chlamydia psittaci strain Guinea pig Inclusion Conjunctivitis: isolation and molecular characterization

Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK¹
Department of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, Box 0868, San Francisco,CA 94143-0868, USA²

Author for correspondence: Ru-ching Hsia. Tel: +44 20 7927 2290. Fax: +44 20 7612 7871. e-mail: r.hsia{at}lshtm.ac.uk

The authors report the isolation and molecular characterization of a bacteriophage, CPG1, which infects Chlamydia psittaci strain Guinea pig Inclusion Conjunctivitis. Purified virion preparations contained isometric particles of 25 nm diameter, superficially similar to spike-less members of the X174 family of bacteriophages. The single-stranded circular DNA genome of CPG1 included five large ORFs, which were similar to ORFs in the genome of a previously described Chlamydia bacteriophage (Chp1) that infects avian C. psittaci. Three of the ORFs encoded polypeptides that were similar to those in a phage infecting the mollicute Spiroplasma melliferum, a pathogen of honeybees. Lesser sequence similarities were seen between two ORF products and the major capsid protein of the X174 coliphage family and proteins mediating rolling circle replication initiation in phages, phagemids and plasmids. Phage CPG1 is the second member of the genus Chlamydiamicrovirus, the first to infect a member of a Chlamydia species infecting mammals. Similarity searches of the nucleotide sequence further revealed a highly conserved (75% identity) 375 base sequence integrated into the genome of the human pathogen Chlamydia pneumoniae. This genomic segment encodes a truncated 113 residue polypeptide, the sequence of which is 72% identical to the amino-terminal end of the putative replication initiation protein of CPG1. This finding suggests that C. pneumoniae has been infected by a phage related to CPG1 and that infection resulted in integration of some of the phage genome into the C. pneumoniae genome.

Keywords: Chlamydia, bacteriophage, capsid protein, Rep protein

Abbreviations: EB, elementary body; GPIC, Guinea Pig Inclusion Conjunctivitis; MOMP, major outer-membrane protein; RB, reticulate body; RCR, rolling circle replication; Rep, replication initiation protein

The GenBank accession number for the sequence reported in this paper is U41758.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. G. Rank, A. K. Bowlin, S. Cane, H. Shou, Z. Liu, U. M. Nagarajan, and P. M. Bavoil Effect of Chlamydiaphage {varphi}CPG1 on the Course of Conjunctival Infection with "Chlamydia caviae" in Guinea Pigs Infect. Immun., March 1, 2009; 77(3): 1216 - 1221. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. J. Skilton, L. T. Cutcliffe, M. A. Pickett, P. R. Lambden, B. A. Fane, and I. N. Clarke Intracellular Parasitism of Chlamydiae: Specific Infectivity of Chlamydiaphage Chp2 in Chlamydophila abortus J. Bacteriol., July 1, 2007; 189(13): 4957 - 4959. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. N. Clarke, L. T. Cutcliffe, J. S. Everson, S. A. Garner, P. R. Lambden, P. J. Pead, M. A. Pickett, K. L. Brentlinger, and B. A. Fane Chlamydiaphage Chp2, a Skeleton in the {phi}X174 Closet: Scaffolding Protein and Procapsid Identification J. Bacteriol., November 15, 2004; 186(22): 7571 - 7574. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. S. Everson, S. A. Garner, P. R. Lambden, B. A Fane, and I. N. Clarke Host Range of Chlamydiaphages {phi}CPAR39 and Chp3 J. Bacteriol., November 1, 2003; 185(21): 6490 - 6492. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. D. Read, G. S. A. Myers, R. C. Brunham, W. C. Nelson, I. T. Paulsen, J. Heidelberg, E. Holtzapple, H. Khouri, N. B. Federova, H. A. Carty, et al. Genome sequence of Chlamydophila caviae (Chlamydia psittaci GPIC): examining the role of niche-specific genes in the evolution of the Chlamydiaceae Nucleic Acids Res., April 15, 2003; 31(8): 2134 - 2147. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. P. Karunakaran, J. F. Blanchard, A. Raudonikiene, C. Shen, A. D. Murdin, and R. C. Brunham Molecular Detection and Seroepidemiology of the Chlamydia pneumoniae Bacteriophage ({Phi}Cpn1) J. Clin. Microbiol., November 1, 2002; 40(11): 4010 - 4014. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. S. Everson, S. A. Garner, B. Fane, B.-L. Liu, P. R. Lambden, and I. N. Clarke Biological Properties and Cell Tropism of Chp2, a Bacteriophage of the Obligate Intracellular Bacterium Chlamydophila abortus J. Bacteriol., May 15, 2002; 184(10): 2748 - 2754. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. M. Bavoil, R.-c. Hsia, and D. M. Ojcius Closing in on Chlamydia and its intracellular bag of tricks Microbiology, November 1, 2000; 146(11): 2723 - 2731. [Full Text]