Culture-independent genomics of a novel chlamydial pathogen of fish provides new insight into host-specific adaptations utilised by these intracellular bacteria

Alyce Taylor-Brown; Trestan Pillonel; Andrew Bridle; Weihong Qi; Nathan Bachmann; Terrence L Miller; Gilbert Greub; Barbara Nowak; Helena M B Seth-Smith; Lloyd Vaughan; Adam Polkinghorne

doi:10.1111/1462-2920.13694

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Culture-independent genomics of a novel chlamydial pathogen of fish provides new insight into host-specific adaptations utilised by these intracellular bacteria

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Culture-independent genomics of a novel chlamydial pathogen of fish provides new insight into host-specific adaptations utilised by these intracellular bacteria

Alyce Taylor-Brown, Trestan Pillonel, Andrew Bridle, Weihong Qi, Nathan Bachmann, Terrence L Miller, Gilbert Greub, Barbara Nowak, Helena M B Seth-Smith, Lloyd Vaughan, …

Environmental microbiology, Vol.19(5), pp.1899-1913

2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.13694

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Abstract

Several Chlamydiales families are associated with epitheliocystis, a common condition of the fish gill epithelium. These families share common ancestors with the Chlamydiaceae and environmental Chlamydiae. Due to the lack of culture systems, little is known about the biology of these chlamydial fish pathogens. We investigated epitheliocystis in cultured Orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) from North Queensland, Australia. Basophilic inclusions were present in the gills of 22/31 fish and the presence of the chlamydial pathogen in the cysts was confirmed by in situ hybridisation. Giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) cultured in the same systems were epitheliocystis free. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed a novel member of the Candidatus Parilichlamydiaceae: Ca. Similichlamydia epinephelii. Using metagenomic approaches, we obtained an estimated 68% of the chlamydial genome, revealing that this novel chlamydial pathogen shares a number of key pathogenic hallmarks with the Chlamydiaceae, including an intact Type III Secretion system and several chlamydial virulence factors. This provides additional evidence that these pathogenic mechanisms were acquired early in the evolution of this unique bacterial phylum. The identification and genomic characterisation of Ca. S. epinephelii provides new opportunities to study the biology of distantly-related chlamydial pathogens while shining a new light on the evolution of pathogenicity of the Chlamydiaceae.

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Title: Culture-independent genomics of a novel chlamydial pathogen of fish provides new insight into host-specific adaptations utilised by these intracellular bacteria
Authors: Alyce Taylor-Brown (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Trestan Pillonel (Author) - University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Andrew Bridle (Author) - University of Tasmania
Weihong Qi (Author) - University of Zurich, Sweden
Nathan Bachmann (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Terrence L Miller (Author) - James Cook University
Gilbert Greub (Author) - University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Barbara Nowak (Author) - University of Tasmania
Helena M B Seth-Smith (Author) - University of Zurich, Sweden
Lloyd Vaughan (Author) - University of Zurich, Sweden
Adam Polkinghorne (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Publication details: Environmental microbiology, Vol.19(5), pp.1899-1913
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Date published: 2017
DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.13694
ISSN: 1462-2912
Copyright note: Copyright © 2017 Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. This is the accepted version of the following article:Taylor-Brown, A., Pillonel, T., Bridle, A., Qi, W., Bachmann, N. L., Miller, T. L., Greub, G., Nowak, B., Seth-Smith, H. M.B., Vaughan, L. and Polkinghorne, A. (2017), Culture-independent genomics of a novel chlamydial pathogen of fish provides new insight into host-specific adaptations utilized by these intracellular bacteria. Environ Microbiol, 19: 1899-1913. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.13694, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.13694
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99451087302621
Output Type: Journal article

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