Chlamydia trachomatis suppresses host cell store-operated Ca entry and inhibits NFAT/calcineurin signaling.

The obligate intracellular bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, replicates within a parasitophorous vacuole termed an inclusion. During development, host proteins critical for regulating intracellular calcium (Ca) homeostasis interact with the inclusion membrane. The inclusion membrane protein, MrcA, interacts with the inositol-trisphosphate receptor (IPR), an ER cationic channel that conducts Ca.

Chlamydia trachomatis Alters Mitochondrial Protein Composition and Secretes Effector Proteins That Target Mitochondria.

Mitochondria are critical cellular organelles that perform a wide variety of functions, including energy production and immune regulation. To perform these functions, mitochondria contain approximately 1,500 proteins, the majority of which are encoded in the nuclear genome, translated in the cytoplasm, and translocated to the mitochondria using distinct mitochondrial targeting sequences (MTS). Bacterial proteins can also contain MTS and localize to the mitochondria.

Inter-species lateral gene transfer focused on the Chlamydia plasticity zone identifies loci associated with immediate cytotoxicity and inclusion stability.

Chlamydia muridarum actively grows in murine mucosae and is a representative model of human chlamydial genital tract disease. In contrast, C. trachomatis infections in mice are limited and rarely cause disease.

Bacterial Unknown Project in the COVID-19 Era: Transition from In-Person Lab Experience to Online Environment.

The eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic forced many universities to quickly transition traditional in-person laboratory courses to an online format for remote learning. Consequently, learning objectives focused on hands-on laboratory skills shifted to ones that assess skills that could be recapitulated in the online format. We have transitioned a staple experiment in most undergraduate microbiology labs, the Bacterial Unknown Project, for online delivery using the university Learning Management System.

Comprehensive genome analysis and comparisons of the swine pathogen, Chlamydia suis reveals unique ORFs and candidate host-specificity factors.

Chlamydia suis, a ubiquitous swine pathogen, has the potential for zoonotic transmission to humans and often encodes for resistance to the primary treatment antibiotic, tetracycline. Because of this emerging threat, comparative genomics for swine isolate R19 with inter- and intra-species genomes was performed. A 1.

Structural and ligand binding analyses of the periplasmic sensor domain of RsbU in Chlamydia trachomatis support a role in TCA cycle regulation.

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacteria that undergo dynamic morphologic and physiologic conversions upon gaining an access to a eukaryotic cell. These conversions likely require the detection of key environmental conditions and regulation of metabolic activity. Chlamydia encodes homologs to proteins in the Rsb phosphoregulatory partner-switching pathway, best described in Bacillus subtilis.

Chromosomal Recombination Targets in Interspecies Lateral Gene Transfer.

Lateral gene transfer (LGT) among strains is common, in both isolates generated in the laboratory and those examined directly from patients. In contrast, there are very few examples of recent acquisition of DNA by any spp. from any other species.

Development of Transposon Mutagenesis for Chlamydia muridarum.

Functional genetic analysis of has been a challenge due to the historical genetic intractability of , although recent advances in chlamydial genetic manipulation have begun to remove these barriers. Here, we report the development of the Himar C9 transposon system for , a mouse-adapted species that is widely used in infection models. We demonstrate the generation and characterization of an initial library of 33 chloramphenicol (Cam)-resistant, green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing transposon mutants.

Transposon Mutagenesis in Chlamydia trachomatis Identifies CT339 as a ComEC Homolog Important for DNA Uptake and Lateral Gene Transfer.

Transposon mutagenesis is a widely applied and powerful genetic tool for the discovery of genes associated with selected phenotypes. is a clinically significant, obligate intracellular bacterium for which many conventional genetic tools and capabilities have been developed only recently. This report describes the successful development and application of a transposon mutagenesis system for generating single-insertion mutant clones of This system was used to generate a pool of 105 transposon mutant clones that included insertions in genes encoding flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent monooxygenase ( []), deubiquitinase (), and competence-associated () proteins.

Demonstration of Persistent Infections and Genome Stability by Whole-Genome Sequencing of Repeat-Positive, Same-Serovar Chlamydia trachomatis Collected From the Female Genital Tract.

Background: The biology of recurrent or long-term infections of humans by Chlamydia trachomatis is poorly understood. Because repeated or persistent infections are correlated with serious complications in humans, understanding these processes may improve clinical management and public health disease control.

Methods: We conducted whole-genome sequence analysis on C.

-containing vacuole serves as deubiquitination platform to stabilize Mcl-1 and to interfere with host defense.

Obligate intracellular replicate in a membrane-bound vacuole called inclusion, which serves as a signaling interface with the host cell. Here, we show that the chlamydial deubiquitinating enzyme (Cdu) 1 localizes in the inclusion membrane and faces the cytosol with the active deubiquitinating enzyme domain. The structure of this domain revealed high similarity to mammalian deubiquitinases with a unique α-helix close to the substrate-binding pocket.