Amoebal endosymbiont Neochlamydia genome sequence illuminates the bacterial role in the defense of the host amoebae against Legionella pneumophila.

ABSTRACT: Previous work has shown that the obligate intracellular amoebal endosymbiont Neochlamydia S13, an environmental chlamydia strain, has an amoebal infection rate of 100%, but does not cause amoebal lysis and lacks transferability to other host amoebae. The underlying mechanism for these observations remains unknown. In this study, we found that the host amoeba could completely evade Legionella infection. The draft genome sequence of Neochlamydia S13 revealed several defects in essential metabolic pathways, as well as unique molecules with leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) and ankyrin domains, responsible for protein-protein interaction. Neochlamydia S13 lacked an intact tricarboxylic acid cycle and had an incomplete respiratory chain. ADP/ATP translocases, ATP-binding cassette transporters, and se

SUBMITTER: Ishida K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3991601 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature