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Chlamydia

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Chlamydia
Chlamydia is one of the most common diseases in the United States.
The infection is part of a 'silent epidemic' as most cases do not show symptoms and are left untreated. It can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and lead to scarring of the Fallopian tubes causing infertility and higher risk of ectopic pregnancy.
The research was carried out at the Molecular Microbiology Group, at the University of Southampton, in conjunction with the Department of Virology, at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, in Israel.
Professor Ian Clarke, from the University of Southampton, says: "This is a very significant advance in the study of chlamydia and we are proud to be the first people to achieve this.
"Previously people have been unable to study chlamydial genetics and this has created a barrier to the comprehensive study of this disease.
"We, together with our colleagues in Israel, discovered that by treating the chlamydia with calcium ions we were able to introduce a piece of foreign DNA.
"This will open up the field of chlamydia research and will enable a better understanding of chlamydial genetics. It could lead to the development of new approaches to chlamydial vaccines and therapeutic interventions."
To prove that they had accessed the chlamydial genome, the research team inserted the gene for a fluorescent protein into C. trachomatis which identified the chlamydial-infected cells by making them glow green.
Their paper detailing the breakthrough in the study of chlamydia is published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Pathogens and has also been selected as the Editor's Choice for the journal Science.

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