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. 2012:2012:362104.
doi: 10.1155/2012/362104. Epub 2012 Feb 21.

Evolution and conservation of predicted inclusion membrane proteins in chlamydiae

Erika I Lutter  1 , Craig Martens, Ted Hackstadt
Affiliations

Evolution and conservation of predicted inclusion membrane proteins in chlamydiae

Erika I Lutter et al. Comp Funct Genomics. 2012.

Abstract

Chlamydia spp. are obligate intracellular pathogens that replicate within a vacuole termed the inclusion. Chlamydiae extensively modify the inclusion membrane via the insertion of chlamydial inclusion membrane proteins (Incs) which decorate the cytosolic face of the inclusion. We have assessed the overall relatedness and phylogeny of Incs in order to identify potential evolutionary trends. Despite a high degree of conservation among Incs within C. trachomatis serovars, phylogenetic analysis showed that some Incs cluster according to clinical groupings suggesting that certain Incs may contribute to tissue tropism. Bioinformatic predictions identified Incs in five chlamydial species: 55 in C. trachomatis, 68 in C. felis, 92 in C. pneumoniae, 79 in C. caviae, and 54 in C. muridarum. Inc homologues were compared between chlamydial species and 23 core Incs were identified as shared among all species. Genomic expansion of Incs was identified in C. pneumoniae, C. caviae, and C. felis but not C. trachomatis or C. muridarum.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Genetic divergence of incs and pmps within C. trachomatis. Mean genetic distance within each predicted inc and pmp genes based on the average p-distance was determined from a pairwise comparison between all possible sequences for the same gene. Error bars represent mean with 95% confidence limit.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogenetic reconstructions of C. trachomatis Incs displaying tissue tropism clusters. Evolutionary history of Incs was inferred with the Neighbor-Joining method using the bootstrap test with 1000 replicates with the percentage of replicate trees associated with each clustered group shown next to the branches. Incs CT223 and CT229 cluster separate clades for ocular, genital, and LGV strains (a and b), CT345 clusters a separate LGV clade (c), and CT850 clusters separate LGV, ocular, and serovar E clades (d).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Venn diagram analysis of shared Inc homologues across Chlamydiae species. Two Venn diagrams are depicted showing shared Incs between C. trachomatis and C. muridarum (a) and between C. felis, C. caviae, and C. pneumoniae (b). Homologues that lacked an identifiable bilobed hydrophobic domain by Kyte and Doolittle analysis were not counted in the Venn diagram analysis. The numbers in the Venn diagram for C. felis, C. caviae, and C. pneumoniae total less than the total number of Incs defined for each species as only homologous sets of Incs were counted as one.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Hydropathy plot analysis and conservation of core Incs. Incs CT850 (a) and CT483 (b) from C. trachomatis, C. muridarum, C. pneumoniae, C. felis, and C. caviae were visualized using Kyte and Doolittle hydropathy plots. Regions of the bilobed hydrophobic domain are shown shaded.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Examples of Inc expansion in C. caviae, C. felis, and C. pneumoniae. Three loci are depicted showing Inc expansion in C. felis (a), C. caviae (b), and C. caviae and C. pneumoniae (b and c). *designates that the predicted gene products lack the bilobed hydrophobic domain.
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