Genome Sequence of the Zoonotic Pathogen Chlamydophila psittaci

We present the first genome sequence of Chlamydophila psittaci, an intracellular pathogen of birds and a human zoonotic pathogen. A comparison with previously sequenced Chlamydophila genomes shows that, as in other chlamydiae, most of the genome diversity is restricted to the plasticity zone. The C. psittaci plasmid was also sequenced. Avian Chlamydophila psittaci infections range from chronic and symptomless to acute, with various mortality rates (11, 12). Epidemic outbreaks of C. psittaci have been reported among wild birds and commercially farmed poultry, causing significant economic losses (11, 12). Although it primarily infects birds, C. psittaci is a human zoonotic pathogen causing pneumonia or fever following close contact with infected birds (12). We sequenced C. psittaci strain RD1, which was isolated from a mixed culture with Chlamydia trachomatis serovar L2b. Although human mixed ocular infections with these two spe-cies have been reported (7), C. psittaci strain RD1 is thought t