Genetic regulation of chlamydial virulence

Relatively little is known of the genetic mechanisms that underly the virulence potential of Chlamydia trachomatis, an important human pathogen that causes ocular and genital tract disease. The goals of this study were to 1) derive clonal isolates of the closely related mouse pathogen, C. muridarum and 2) assess their virulence in a genital tract infection model in wild type and immune-deficient mice and 3) compare the genomic sequences of the isolates to identify genetic differences that could modulate infection outcomes.