Introduction: Chlamydia psittaci is a gram-negative obligate intracellular pathogen of birds. Poultry infections lead to economic losses and can be transmitted to humans. No vaccine is available and the bacterium-host cell interaction is not completely understood. Replicating bacteria cause pneumonia, but C. psittaci can also be non-replicating and persistent inside the cytoplasm of avian cells. RT-qPCR provides insight into the molecular pathogenesis of both active replicating and persistent Chlamydia psittaci in birds, but requires identification of stably expressed reference genes to avoid biases. Material and Methods: We investigated the expression stability of 10 C. psittaci candidate reference genes for gene expression analysis during normal growth and penicillin-induced persistence. C. psittaci Cal10 was cultured in HeLa229 and RNA was extracted. The expression level of each candidate was examined by RT-qPCR and Cq values were analysed using geNorm. Results: The genes tyrS, gidA, radA, and 16S rRNA ranked among the most stably expressed. The final selected reference genes differed according to the bacterial growth status (normal growth versus persistent status), and the time points selected during the duration of the normal chlamydial developmental cycle. Conclusion: The study data show the importance of systematic validation of reference genes to confirm their stability within the strains and under the conditions selected.

Introduction: Chlamydia psittaci is a gram-negative obligate intracellular pathogen of birds. Poultry infections lead to economic losses and can be transmitted to humans. No vaccine is available and the bacterium-host cell interaction is not completely understood. Replicating bacteria cause pneumonia, but C. psittaci can also be non-replicating and persistent inside the cytoplasm of avian cells. RT-qPCR provides insight into the molecular pathogenesis of both active replicating and persistent Chlamydia psittaci in birds, but requires identification of stably expressed reference genes to avoid biases. Material and Methods: We investigated the expression stability of 10 C. psittaci candidate reference genes for gene expression analysis during normal growth and penicillin-induced persistence. C. psittaci Cal10 was cultured in HeLa229 and RNA was extracted. The expression level of each candidate was examined by RT-qPCR and Cq values were analysed using geNorm. Results: The genes tyrS, gidA, radA, and 16S rRNA ranked among the most stably expressed. The final selected reference genes differed according to the bacterial growth status (normal growth versus persistent status), and the time points selected during the duration of the normal chlamydial developmental cycle. Conclusion: The study data show the importance of systematic validation of reference genes to confirm their stability within the strains and under the conditions selected.

Generally known psittacosis or ornithosis is a disease of birds caused by the bacterium Chlamydia psittaci. Humans are accidential hosts and are most commonly infected from avian sources. It raises hepatitis or neurosis. As major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of Chlamydia psittai has been known to play a role in the avoidance of host immune defenses, research on developing a Chlamydia vaccine has focused on the MOMP. In this study, the gene encoding the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of the Chlamydia psittaci strain 6BC was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli Strain M-15.

Analysis of manifestation of chlamydial infection of cattle in the conditions of forage affect with mycotoxins was realized in the conditions of the Republic of Belarus. Research results showed that chlamydial infection proceeded in association with aflatoxin, T-2 toxin, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone and ochratoxin. In course of the biochemical analysis there was noted the lowering of carotene on 23%, and vitamin A – in two times; also there was slight lowering of alkaline reserve. The obtained data proved the substantial changes in content of sub-populations of lymphocytes in cow blood in dry and postnatal period. During the immunological study of immunoglobulins in blood serum of cows sick with postpartum chlamydial endometritis it was revealed that titre of immunoglobulin A was on 31% higher. Level of immunoglobulins G and M differed slightl