Molecular evidence of Chlamydia pecorum and arthropod-associated Chlamydiae in an expanded range of marsupials

Burnard, D; Huston, WM; Webb, JK; Jelocnik, M; Reiss, A; Gillett, A; Fitzgibbon, S; Carver, S; Carrucan, J; Flanagan, C; Timms, P; Polkinghorne, A

Molecular evidence of Chlamydia pecorum and arthropod-associated Chlamydiae in an expanded range of marsupials

Burnard, D Huston, WM

Webb, JK

Jelocnik, M

Reiss, A Gillett, A Fitzgibbon, S Carver, S Carrucan, J Flanagan, C Timms, P Polkinghorne, A

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Scientific Reports, 2017, 7 (1)
Issue Date:: 2017-12-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Burnard, D	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Huston, WM https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0879-1287	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Webb, JK https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4822-6829	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Jelocnik, M https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1340-2562	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Reiss, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Gillett, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Fitzgibbon, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Carver, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Carrucan, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Flanagan, C	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Timms, P	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Polkinghorne, A	en_US
dc.date.available	2017-09-19	en_US
dc.date.issued	2017-12-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Scientific Reports, 2017, 7 (1)	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/124113
dc.description.abstract	© 2017 The Author(s). The order Chlamydiales are biphasic intracellular bacterial pathogens infecting humans and domesticated animals. Wildlife infections have also been reported, with the most studied example being Chlamydia pecorum infections in the koala, an iconic Australian marsupial. In koalas, molecular evidence suggests that spill-over from C. pecorum infected livestock imported into Australia may have had a historical or contemporary role. Despite preliminary evidence that other native Australian marsupials also carry C. pecorum, their potential as reservoirs of this pathogen and other Chlamydia-related bacteria (CRBs) has been understudied. Mucosal epithelial samples collected from over 200 native Australian marsupials of different species and geographic regions across Australia were PCR screened for Chlamydiales. Previously described and genetically distinct C. pecorum genotypes and a range of 16S rRNA genotypes sharing similarity to different CRBs in the broader Chlamydiales order were present. One 16S rRNA Chlamydiales genotype recently described in Australian ticks that parasitise native Australian marsupials was also identified. This study provides further evidence that chlamydial infections are widespread in native fauna and that detailed investigations are required to understand the influence these infections have on host species conservation, but also whether infection spill-over plays a role in their epidemiology.	en_US
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP150100722
dc.relation.ispartof	Scientific Reports	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1038/s41598-017-13164-y	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Animals	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Marsupialia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Phascolarctidae	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Arthropods	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Chlamydia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	RNA, Ribosomal, 16S	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Reproducibility of Results	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Phylogeny	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Species Specificity	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Base Sequence	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Genotype	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Geography	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Australia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Multilocus Sequence Typing	en_US
dc.title	Molecular evidence of Chlamydia pecorum and arthropod-associated Chlamydiae in an expanded range of marsupials	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	7	en_US
utslib.for	0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	7	en_US

Abstract:

© 2017 The Author(s). The order Chlamydiales are biphasic intracellular bacterial pathogens infecting humans and domesticated animals. Wildlife infections have also been reported, with the most studied example being Chlamydia pecorum infections in the koala, an iconic Australian marsupial. In koalas, molecular evidence suggests that spill-over from C. pecorum infected livestock imported into Australia may have had a historical or contemporary role. Despite preliminary evidence that other native Australian marsupials also carry C. pecorum, their potential as reservoirs of this pathogen and other Chlamydia-related bacteria (CRBs) has been understudied. Mucosal epithelial samples collected from over 200 native Australian marsupials of different species and geographic regions across Australia were PCR screened for Chlamydiales. Previously described and genetically distinct C. pecorum genotypes and a range of 16S rRNA genotypes sharing similarity to different CRBs in the broader Chlamydiales order were present. One 16S rRNA Chlamydiales genotype recently described in Australian ticks that parasitise native Australian marsupials was also identified. This study provides further evidence that chlamydial infections are widespread in native fauna and that detailed investigations are required to understand the influence these infections have on host species conservation, but also whether infection spill-over plays a role in their epidemiology.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/124113