A new species of Chlamydia isolated from Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis)
Somjit Chaiwattanarungruengpaisan, Metawee Thongdee, Songtham Anuntakarun, Sunchai Payungporn, Nlin Arya, Apichart Punchukrang, Pongrama Ramasoota, Sombat Singhakaew, Thassanant Atithep, Ladawan Sariya
Abstract
Chlamydia is a known pathogen in both saltwater and freshwater crocodiles. However, the exact species/strain has not been clearly identified. In this study, we successfully cultivated Siamese crocodile Chlamydia in McCoy cells at a temperature of 30°C. Electron microscopy; phylogeny based on nine conserved taxonomically informative markers, on ompA, or on seven housekeeping genes; and whole-genome sequencing and analysis of the isolate confirmed the identity of the isolate as a new member of the genus Chlamydia, a new species that we name Chlamydia crocodili.