Chlamydiaceae-like bacterium, but no Chlamydia psittaci, in sea birds from Antarctica

Abstract

Within the growing order of Chlamydiales, there are a number of pathogens. One is Chlamydia psittaci, a zoonotic pathogen, with birds as natural hosts that may be transmitted to humans and cause severe respiratory disease, psittacosis. The prevalence of this pathogen in Antarctic birds is almost unknown as well as the ramifications of its potential spread in naïve bird populations. To investigate the prevalence of chlamydia organisms, cloacal and fecal samples were collected from 264 penguins and 263 seabirds on the Antarctic Peninsula and in Southern Chile. No C. psittaci could be detected by 23S rRNA realtime PCR. However, DNA sequencing of the 16S rRNA 298-bp signature sequence revealed a Chlamydiaceae-like bacterium previously found in seabirds from the subarctic zone, demonstrating that this not yet fully characterized bacterium is widespread. In conclusion, the prevalence of C. psittaci among wild birds on the Antarctic Peninsula seems to be low, but other types of chlamydial organisms are common. Further studies are required to taxonomically define and finally understand the role of these non-classified Chlamydiae.

Review of diseases (pathogen isolation, direct recovery and antibodies) in albatrosses and large petrels worldwide

“…Information on total number of chicks sampled, number of positives, age of chicks at sampling, and type of PCR performed are not included in the reports. An unclassified Chlamydiaceae -like bacteria was identified by real-time PCR from fresh Southern Giant Petrel faeces (1/6) in the Antarctic Peninsula (Isaksson et al 2015). I. uriae ticks (3/41) from Black-browed Albatross breeding in Campbell Island, New Zealand, were positive for the vector-borne bacteria Borrelia garinii DNA by PCR (Olsen et al 1995).…”

“…References in brackets. Location: SA: Subantarctic, A: Antarctic, Other (see Table 1 Giant Petrel faeces (1/6) in the Antarctic Peninsula (Isaksson et al 2015). I. uriae ticks (3/41) from Black-browed Albatross breeding in Campbell Island, New Zealand, were positive for the vectorborne bacteria Borrelia garinii DNA by PCR (Olsen et al 1995).…”

“…Knowledge about the diversity and distribution of Chlamydiaceae-like bacteria is limited and evolving, with reports in 460 wild and domestic avian species in 30 orders (Kaleta and Taday 2003). While commonly found in Sphenisciformes and Lariformes (Kaleta and Taday 2003), at this time, the ecological and health relevance of the finding reported by Isaksson et al (2015) is unknown. In addition, DNA of vector-borne bacteria, Borrelia garinii, was found in I. uriae ticks from Black-browed Albatross breeding in Campbell Island, New Zealand (Olsen et al 1995).…”

Serological Survey for Select Infectious Agents in Wild Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus Magellanicus) in Argentina, 1994–2008

“…The failure to isolate C. psittaci despite relatively high CFT seroprevalences (Travis et al 2006; Gonzá lez-Acuña et al 2013) suggests cross-reactivity with antigenicallysimilar organisms. Chlamydia psittaci was demonstrated to infect captive Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor; Gedye et al 2018), but other yet unidentified Chlamydiales are also known to infect wild penguins (Isaksson et al 2015). A high prevalence (32.3%) of Chlamydiaceae species other than C. psittaci was recently detected in cloacal swabs of Magellanic Penguins in Argentina, and some of these were related to a strain previously found in feces of seabirds from the northern hemisphere (Gallo-Vaulet et al 2017).…”

New and emerging chlamydial infections of creatures great and small

“…The genotypes described were identical to poultry strains from a sympatric area, suggesting a potential cross-host transmission event and/or a genotype specific to this region. Adding to this list of novel avian chlamydial species, several novel unclassified chlamydial species were also reported in faecal specimens in wild seabirds such as penguins and gulls [28] , [29] . These taxa are closely related despite their geographically distinct locations.…”