Gene

Chlamydophila

Ecology

Bacteria

Biology

Chlamydia trachomatis

Chlamydia

Predation

Chlamydiaceae

Virology

Obligate

16S ribosomal RNA

Genetics

Phylogenetic tree

Genotype

Microbiology

Buteo

Phylogenetics

23S ribosomal RNA

Chlamydiales

Zoology

Multilocus sequence typing

Ribosome

Chlamydia psittaci

Systematic and Applied Microbiology

Chlamydiaceae are obligate intracellular bacterial pathogens for humans and animals. A recent study highlighted that a Chlamydiaceae intermediary between C. psittaci and C. abortus can infect hawks. Here, an isolate was obtained upon passage of cloacal and conjunctival sac material collected from a female hatch-year red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) in cultured cells. The diseased bird, one of 12 birds housed in a rehabilitation center, developed conjunctivitis and later died. Swabs from both sites tested positive for Chlamydia using the QuickVue Chlamydia test. The isolate, named RSHA, tested negative in qPCR assays specific for C. psittaci and C. abortus, respectively. Analysis of the 16S rRNA, 23S rRNA and whole genome sequences as well as MLST, ANIb and TETRA values reveal that C. psittaci and C. abortus are the closest relatives of RSHA. However, the overall results strongly suggest a phylogenetic intermediate position between these two species. Therefore, we propose the introduction of a new species designated Chlamydia buteonis with RSHAT as the type strain.

Chlamydia buteonis, a new Chlamydia species isolated from a red-shouldered hawk