Journal article
Completing the Genome Sequence of Chlamydia pecorum Strains MC/MarsBar and DBDeUG: New Insights into This Enigmatic Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) Pathogen
Pathogens, Vol.10(12), pp.1-20
2021
PMCID: PMC8703710
PMID: 34959498
Abstract
Chlamydia pecorum, an obligate intracellular pathogen, causes significant morbidity and mortality in livestock and the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). A variety of C. pecorum gene-centric molecular studies have revealed important observations about infection dynamics and genetic diversity in both koala and livestock hosts. In contrast to a variety of C. pecorum molecular studies, to date, only four complete and 16 draft genomes have been published. Of those, only five draft genomes are from koalas. Here, using whole-genome sequencing and a comparative genomics approach, we describe the first two complete C. pecorum genomes collected from diseased koalas. A de novo assembly of DBDeUG_2018 and MC/MarsBar_2018 resolved the chromosomes and chlamydial plasmids each as single, circular contigs. Robust phylogenomic analyses indicate biogeographical separation between strains from northern and southern koala populations, and between strains infecting koala and livestock hosts. Comparative genomics between koala strains identified new, unique, and shared loci that accumulate single-nucleotide polymorphisms and separate between northern and southern, and within northern koala strains. Furthermore, we predicted novel type III secretion system effectors. This investigation constitutes a comprehensive genome-wide comparison between C. pecorum from koalas and provides improvements to annotations of a C. pecorum reference genome. These findings lay the foundations for identifying and understanding host specificity and adaptation behind chlamydial infections affecting koalas.
Details
- Title
- Completing the Genome Sequence of Chlamydia pecorum Strains MC/MarsBar and DBDeUG: New Insights into This Enigmatic Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) Pathogen
- Authors
- Rhys T White (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, GeneCology Research Centre - LegacyAlistair R Legione (Author) - The University of MelbourneAlyce Taylor-Brown (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, GeneCology Research Centre - LegacyCristina M Fernandez (Author) - The University of SydneyDamien P Higgins (Author) - Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaPeter Timms (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, GeneCology Research Centre - LegacyMartina Jelocnik (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, GeneCology Research Centre - Legacy
- Publication details
- Pathogens, Vol.10(12), pp.1-20
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Date published
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.3390/pathogens10121543
- ISSN
- 2076-0817
- PMID
- 34959498; PMC8703710
- 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
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99594505002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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