An Emerging Mycoplasma Associated with Trichomoniasis, Vaginal Infection and Disease

Authors

Jennifer M. Fettweis, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
Myrna G. Serrano, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
Bernice Huang, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
J. Paul Brooks, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
Abigail L. Glascock, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
Nihar U. Sheth, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
Vaginal Microbiome Consortium
Jerome F. Strauss III, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
Kimberly K. Jefferson, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
Gregory A. Buck, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Original Publication Date

2014

Journal/Book/Conference Title

PLoS ONE

Volume

9

Issue

10

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0110943

Comments

Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110943

Date of Submission

November 2015

Abstract

Humans are colonized by thousands of bacterial species, but it is difficult to assess the metabolic and pathogenic potential of the majority of these because they have yet to be cultured. Here, we characterize an uncultivated vaginal mycoplasma tightly associated with trichomoniasis that was previously known by its 16S rRNA sequence as “Mnola.” In this study, the mycoplasma was found almost exclusively in women infected with the sexually transmitted pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis, but rarely observed in women with no diagnosed disease. The genomes of four strains of this species were reconstructed using metagenome sequencing and assembly of DNA from four discrete mid-vaginal samples, one of which was obtained from a pregnant woman with trichomoniasis who delivered prematurely. These bacteria harbor several putative virulence factors and display unique metabolic strategies. Genes encoding proteins with high similarity to potential virulence factors include two collagenases, a hemolysin, an O-sialoglycoprotein endopeptidase and a feoB-type ferrous iron transport system. We propose the name “Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii” for this potential new pathogen.

Rights

© 2014 Fettweis et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Is Part Of

VCU Microbiology and Immunology Publications