Journal article
Chlamydia pecorum Ovine Abortion: Associations between Maternal Infection and Perinatal Mortality
Pathogens, Vol.10(11), pp.1-15
2021
PMCID: PMC8618313
PMID: 34832523
Abstract
Chlamydia pecorum is a common gastrointestinal inhabitant of livestock but infections can manifest in a broad array of clinical presentations and in a range of host species. While C. pecorum is a known cause of ovine abortion, clinical cases have only recently been described in detail. Here, the prevalence and sequence types (STs) of C. pecorum in ewes from a property experiencing high levels of perinatal mortality (PNM) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, were investigated using serological and molecular methods. Ewes that were PNM+ were statistically more likely to test seropositive compared to PNM− ewes and displayed higher antibody titres; however, an increase in chlamydial shedding from either the rectum, vagina or conjunctiva of PNM+ ewes was not observed. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) indicated that C. pecorum ST23 was the major ST shed by ewes in the flock, was the only ST identified from the vaginal site, and was the same ST detected within aborted foetal tissues. Whole genome sequencing of C. pecorum isolated from one abortion case revealed that the C. pecorum plasmid (pCpec) contained a unique deletion in coding sequence 1 (CDS1) that was also present in C. pecorum ST23 shed from the ewes. A further unique deletion was noted in a polymorphic membrane protein gene (pmpG) of the C. pecorum chromosome, which warrants further investigation given the role of PmpG in host cell adherence and tissue tropism.This study describes novel infection parameters in a sheep flock experiencing C. pecorum-associated perinatal mortality, provides the first genomic data from an abortigenic C. pecorum strain, and raises questions about possible links between unique genetic features of this strain and C. pecorum abortion.
Details
- Title
- Chlamydia pecorum Ovine Abortion: Associations between Maternal Infection and Perinatal Mortality
- Authors
- Cheryl Jenkins (Author) - NSW Department of Primary Industries (Menangle, Australia)Martina Jelocnik (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, GeneCology Research Centre - LegacyEmily Onizawa (Author) - NSW Department of Primary Industries (Menangle, Australia)Justine McNally (Author) - North West Local Land Services (Moree, NSW, Australia)Ronald Coilparampil (Author) - NSW Department of Primary Industries (Menangle, Australia)Pedro Pinczowski (Author) - NSW Department of Primary Industries (Menangle, Australia)Daniel Bogema (Author) - NSW Department of Primary Industries (Menangle, Australia)Thomas Westermann (Author) - Cornell University
- Publication details
- Pathogens, Vol.10(11), pp.1-15
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Date published
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.3390/pathogens10111367
- ISSN
- 2076-0817
- PMID
- 34832523; PMC8618313
- Copyright note
- © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99584903802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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