Chlamydia caviae is a bacterium that can be recovered from the conjunctivaofGuinea pigs suffering from ocular inflammation and eye discharge. It is also possible to infect the genital tract of Guinea pigs with C. caviae and elicit a disease that is very similar to human Chlamydia trachomatis infection. C. caviae infects primarily the mucosal epithelium and is not invasive.
C. caviae is markedly specific for Guinea pigs, as attempts to infect mice, hamsters, rabbits and gerbils have been unsuccessful, except for one experimentally infected gerbil. The five known C. caviae isolates are indistinguishable, based on ompA gene sequence.
C. caviae has a relatively small genome that contains 1.17 Mbp with 998 protein coding genes. Additionally, C. caviae strain GPIC contains an extrachromosomal plasmid, pCpGP1.[2]
Gaede, Wolfgang; Reckling, Karl-Friedrich; Schliephake, Anette; Missal, Dirk; Hotzel, Helmut; Sachse, Konrad (19 May 2010). "Detection of Chlamydophila caviae and Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemicus in horses with signs of rhinitis and conjunctivitis". Veterinary microbiology. 142 (3–4): 440–444. doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.10.011.
Pantchev, Alexandra; Sting, Reinhard; Bauerfeind, Rolf; Tyczka, Judith; Sachse, Konrad (December 2010). "Detection of all Chlamydophila and Chlamydia spp. of veterinary interest using species-specific real-time PCR assays". Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 33 (6): 473–484. doi:10.1016/j.cimid.2009.08.002.
