Description:
<jats:p>
<jats:named-content content-type="genus-species">Chlamydia trachomatis</jats:named-content>
infections have an immense impact on public health; however, understanding the basic biology and pathogenesis of this organism has been stalled by the limited repertoire of genetic tools. This report describes the successful adaptation of an important tool that has been lacking in
<jats:italic>Chlamydia</jats:italic>
studies: transposon mutagenesis. This advance enabled the generation of 105 insertional mutants, demonstrating that numerous gene products are not essential for
<jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic>
growth. Mammalian infections using these mutants revealed that several gene products are important for infections
<jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic>
. Moreover, this tool enabled the investigation and discovery of a gene critical for lateral gene transfer; a process fundamental to the evolution of bacteria and likely for
<jats:italic>Chlamydia</jats:italic>
as well. The development of transposon mutagenesis for
<jats:italic>Chlamydia</jats:italic>
has broad impact for the field and for the discovery of genes associated with selected phenotypes, providing an additional avenue for the discovery of molecular mechanisms used for pathogenesis and for a more thorough understanding of this important pathogen.
</jats:p>