Chlamydia trachomatis global diversity project. C trachomatis

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common cause of sexually transmitted infections in the UK, a statistic which is also reflected globally. There are two biovariants of C. trachomatis: trachoma and lyphogranuloma venereum (LGV). Trachoma isolates are non-invasive, whereas the LGV strains are invasive causing a disseminating infection of the local draining lymph nodes. Genome analysis has shown that the ocular and the genital trachoma isolates are 99.6 % identical at the sequence level and only show small differences in overall gene content. However, differences in coding potential, and the loss of function through point mutation, have been used to subdivide the trachoma strains into those associated with ocular and genital infections. We have previously sequenced a two LGV isolates; a long-term laboratory passaged strain and the recent ‘epidemic’ clinical LGV isolate causing proctitis. From these strains it was evident that there were no whole gene differences and that the recent epidemic isolate was a classical LGV isolate and has been circulating in the human population for a long time: an old strain causing a new disease. We have now put together a global collection of LGV isolates and are a sequencing them to determine the global phylogeny of this pathogen.. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/