Thinking Outside the Chlamydia Box
Alyce Taylor-Brown, Tamara Halter, Adam Polkinghorne and Matthias Horn
from: Chlamydia Biology: From Genome to Disease (Edited by: Ming Tan, Johannes H. Hegemann and Christine Sütterlin). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2020) Pages: 429-458.
Abstract
Chlamydiae have long been studied exclusively in the context of disease. Yet, accumulating evidence over nearly three decades shows that chlamydiae are ubiquitous in the environment, thriving as symbionts of unicellular eukaryotes such as amoeba and infecting a broad range of animal hosts. These chlamydiae share the characteristic chlamydial developmental cycle and other chlamydial hallmarks. Their discovery fundamentally changed our perspective on chlamydial diversity. Instead of a single genus, Chlamydia, including closely related pathogens, the chlamydiae comprise hundreds of families and genera. Investigating isolates and non-cultured representatives provided insights into features that are in common with or divergent from known Chlamydia species, and suggested that some of these chlamydiae may also be considered pathogens. Importantly, these studies have contributed to a better understanding of the biology of all chlamydiae, and they provide a framework for investigating the evolution of the chlamydial intracellular lifestyle and pathogenicity read more ...
