''Waddlia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...
in its own family, Waddliaceae. Species in this genus have a ''
Chlamydia
Chlamydia, or more specifically a chlamydia infection, is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Chlamydia trachomatis''. Most people who are infected have no symptoms. When symptoms do appear they may occur only several we ...
''-like cycle of replication and their
ribosomal RNA
Ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA which is the primary component of ribosomes, essential to all cells. rRNA is a ribozyme which carries out protein synthesis in ribosomes. Ribosomal RNA is transcribed from ribosom ...
genes are 80–90% identical to
ribosomal genes in the
Chlamydiaceae
The Chlamydiaceae are a family of gram-negative bacteria that belongs to the phylum Chlamydiota, order Chlamydiales. Chlamydiaceae species express the family-specific lipopolysaccharide epitope αKdo-(2→8)-αKdo-(2→4)-αKdo (previously ca ...
.
The type species is ''Waddlia chondrophila'' strain WSU 86-1044T, which was isolated from the tissues of a
first-trimester aborted
bovine
Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betwe ...
fetus
A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal dev ...
. Isolated in 1986, this species was originally characterized as a ''
Rickettsia
''Rickettsia'' is a genus of nonmotile, gram-negative, nonspore-forming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that may occur in the forms of cocci (0.1 μm in diameter), bacilli (1–4 μm long), or threads (up to about 10 μm long). The term "ricke ...
''.
DNA sequencing of the
ribosomal genes corrected the characterization. Another ''W. chondrophila'' strain, 2032/99, was found along with ''
Neospora caninum
''Neospora caninum'' is a coccidian parasite that was identified as a species in 1988. Prior to this, it was misclassified as ''Toxoplasma gondii'' due to structural similarities. The genome sequence of ''Neospora caninum'' has been determined by ...
'' in a
septic stillborn calf.
''Waddlia chondrophila'' may be linked to miscarriages in pregnant women. A study found ''Waddlia chondrophila'' present in the placenta and vagina of 32 women, 10 of which who had miscarriages. It is hypothesized that the bacterial grows in placental cells, damaging the placenta.
The species ''Waddlia malaysiensis'' G817 has been proposed. ''W. malaysiensis'' was identified in the urine of Malaysian fruit bats (''
Eonycteris spelaea'').
See also
*
List of bacterial orders
This article lists the orders of the Bacteria. The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
and the phylogeny is based on 16S ...
*
List of bacteria genera This article lists the genera of the bacteria. The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). However many taxonomic names are ...
References
Chlamydiota
Bacteria genera
{{Bacteria-stub