The first genomic insight into Chlamydia psittaci sequence type (ST)24 from a healthy captive psittacine host in Australia demonstrates evolutionary proximity with strains from psittacine, human, and equine hosts.
Abstract: Chlamydia psittaci is a zoonotic pathogen that infects birds, humans, and other mammals. Notably, recent studies suggested the human-to-human transmission of C. psittaci, and this pathogen also causes equine reproductive loss in Australia. Molecular studies in Australia to date have focused on and described clonal sequence type (ST)24 strains infecting horses, wild psittacine, and humans. In contrast, the genetic identity of C. psittaci strains from captive psittacine hosts is scarce. In 2022, C. psittaci was detected in the faeces of a healthy captive blue-fronted parrot (Amazona aestiva). Genomic DNA was extracted and underwent whole-genome sequencing. Here we report the 1,160,701 bp circular chromosome of C. psittaci strain BF_amazon_parrot13 and the 7,553 bp circular plasmid pCpsBF_amazon_parrot13. Initial in silico multi-locus sequence typing and ompA genotyping revealed that BF_amazon_parrot13 belongs to the clonal ST24 lineage and has an ompA genotype A. Further context involved the genomes of 31 published ST24 strains, utilising a single-nucleotide variant (SNV) based clustering approach. Despite temporal, host, and biogeographical separation, a core-genome SNV-based phylogeny revealed that BF_amazon_parrot13 clustered in a distinct subcluster with seven C. psittaci strains from equines in Australia (maximum pairwise distance of 13 SNVs). BF_amazon_parrot13 represents the first complete C. psittaci ST24 genome from a captive psittacine in Australia. Furthermore, by using whole-genome sequencing to coordinate surveillance, we can also learn more about the possible health risks and routes of chlamydia transmission among people, livestock, wild animals, and domesticated animals.
Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2023-02-23 PubMed ID: 36840991DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2023.109704Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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The research article details a study which investigates the genomic sequence of Chlamydia psittaci, a pathogen that affects birds, humans, and horses, extracted from a captive blue-fronted parrot in Australia. The study further analysed the genetic relation between the sequence type (ST)24 strain found in the parrot and those identified in humans, horses, and wild birds.
Background of the Study
- The research is centered around Chlamydia psittaci, which is a pathogenic bacterium that infects a variety of hosts including birds, humans and horses.
- This study was driven by the scarcity of knowledge about the genetic identity of the strain in captive psittacine hosts, despite previous research on the ST24 strains in horses, wild psittacine birds, and humans.
The Process and Findings
- The bacterium was detected in the feces of a healthy blue-fronted parrot.
- The genomic DNA of the C. psittaci strain, named BF_amazon_parrot13, was sequenced and analysed.
- The strain was found to belong to the ST24 lineage and carried the ompA genotype A.
- A further comparison was made against the genomes of 31 previously published strains of ST24 using single-nucleotide variant (SNV) based comparison.
- The study found that despite differences in time, hosts, and geographical locations, the parrot’s strain showed a close genetic proximity with the strains from Australian horses (with a maximum difference of just 13 SNVs).
Significance and Implications
- BF_amazon_parrot13 represents the first complete discovery of C. psittaci ST24 genome from a captive psittacine in Australia.
- The study enhances understanding of the potential health risks and transmission routes of the ST24 strain of the pathogen among various hosts including humans, horses, wild and domesticated birds.
- The close genetic similarity with strains identified in Australian horses provides new insights into the possible zoonotic transmission of the bacterium.
- The study underscores the relevance of whole-genome sequencing in tracking and managing diseases that can cross species, suggesting that a one-health approach may be beneficial.
Cite This Article
APA
White RT, Jelocnik M, Klukowski N, Haque MH, Sarker S.
(2023).
The first genomic insight into Chlamydia psittaci sequence type (ST)24 from a healthy captive psittacine host in Australia demonstrates evolutionary proximity with strains from psittacine, human, and equine hosts.
Vet Microbiol, 280, 109704.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2023.109704 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Centre for Bioinnovation, Sippy Downs, Sunshine Coast, Queensland 4557, Australia; The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia; The University of Queensland, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. Electronic address: rwhite1@usc.edu.au.
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Centre for Bioinnovation, Sippy Downs, Sunshine Coast, Queensland 4557, Australia. Electronic address: mjelocni@usc.edu.au.
- La Trobe University, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, Melbourne, Victoria 3086, Australia. Electronic address: 20376316@students.latrobe.edu.au.
- Rajshahi University, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh. Electronic address: hakim.ahvs@ru.ac.bd.
- La Trobe University, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, Melbourne, Victoria 3086, Australia. Electronic address: s.sarker@latrobe.edu.au.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Humans
- Horses
- Chlamydophila psittaci / genetics
- Multilocus Sequence Typing / veterinary
- Psittacosis / veterinary
- Psittacosis / epidemiology
- Parrots
- Australia
- Mammals
- Genomics
- Horse Diseases
Conflict of Interest Statement
Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Kasimov V, White RT, Foxwell J, Jenkins C, Gedye K, Pannekoek Y, Jelocnik M. Whole-genome sequencing of Chlamydia psittaci from Australasian avian hosts: A genomics approach to a pathogen that still ruffles feathers.. Microb Genom 2023 Jul;9(7).
- Luu LDW, Kasimov V, Phillips S, Myers GSA, Jelocnik M. Genome organization and genomics in Chlamydia: whole genome sequencing increases understanding of chlamydial virulence, evolution, and phylogeny.. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023;13:1178736.
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