{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T13:55:24Z","timestamp":1790603724336,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790553600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790553600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32270203"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32270203"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["82402661"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82402661"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["mSphere"],"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title\/>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Chlamydia psittaci<\/jats:italic>\n                      (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Cps<\/jats:italic>\n                      ) causes psittacosis, a zoonotic disease characterized by severe pneumonia and systemic infection, yet its pathogenic mechanisms remain poorly understood. While plasmids are established virulence determinants in\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">C. trachomatis<\/jats:italic>\n                      (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Ct<\/jats:italic>\n                      ) and\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Chlamydia muridarum<\/jats:italic>\n                      (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Cm<\/jats:italic>\n                      ), their role in\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Cps<\/jats:italic>\n                      pathogenesis is unknown. Here, we generated a panel of\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Cps<\/jats:italic>\n                      transformants with individual deletions of plasmid genes (pgp1\u2013pgp8) and characterized\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">in vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                      . Genetic analysis revealed that Pgp1 and Pgp2 are required for plasmid maintenance, whereas Pgp3\u2013Pgp8 are dispensable. Transcriptomic and qRT-PCR analyses identified a subset of chromosomal genes regulated by the\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Cps<\/jats:italic>\n                      plasmid, distinct from those described in\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Ct<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Cm<\/jats:italic>\n                      . Pgp4 functions as a central regulator of chromosomal gene expression; however, unlike\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Ct<\/jats:italic>\n                      or\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Cm<\/jats:italic>\n                      , Pgp4 does not affect pgp3 transcript levels but is required for Pgp3 protein expression, indicating post-transcriptional regulation. We further show that Pgp7 positively regulates plasmid-dependent gene expression, whereas Pgp6 and Pgp8 negatively regulate this process. Functionally, the plasmid is a determinant of virulence in a murine lung infection model. Pgp3 is essential for host inflammatory responses and bacterial virulence\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">in vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                      . Collectively, these findings demonstrate plasmid-mediated regulation in\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Cps<\/jats:italic>\n                      is distinct from that in other chlamydial species and highlight species-specific regulatory mechanisms underlying chlamydial pathogenesis.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>IMPORTANCE<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Chlamydia psittaci<\/jats:italic>\n                      is a zoonotic pathogen that causes severe and fatal pneumonia in humans, yet its molecular pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Here, we generated a series of\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Cps<\/jats:italic>\n                      transformants carrying individual ORF deletion and characterized their functions both\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">in vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                      . We show that Pgp4 and Pgp7 positively regulate a subset of chromosomal genes, whereas Pgp6 and Pgp8 act as negative regulators. Unexpectedly, Pgp4 regulates the major virulence factor Pgp3 at a post-transcriptional level, revealing a previously unrecognized mode of plasmid control. These findings provide new insights into the roles of plasmid-encoded genes in\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Cps<\/jats:italic>\n                      biology and pathogenesis.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/msphere.00507-26","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T13:00:36Z","timestamp":1790600436000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Plasmid-mediated regulation of chromosomal gene expression and virulence in\n                    <i>Chlamydia psittaci<\/i>"],"prefix":"10.1128","author":[{"given":"Yixin","family":"Mo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/049tv2d57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Public Health and Emergency Management, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/049tv2d57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Medicine, SUSTech Homeostatic Medicine Institute, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Buwei","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03mqfn238","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Basic Medicine, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Special Pathogens Prevention and Control, Institute of Pathogenic Biology, Hengyang Medical College, University of South China","place":["Hengyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junjun","family":"Jia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/049tv2d57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Public Health and Emergency Management, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/049tv2d57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Medicine, SUSTech Homeostatic Medicine Institute, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaomin","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/049tv2d57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Public Health and Emergency Management, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/049tv2d57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Medicine, SUSTech Homeostatic Medicine Institute, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/049tv2d57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Public Health and Emergency Management, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/049tv2d57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Medicine, SUSTech Homeostatic Medicine Institute, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoxin","family":"Pan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/049tv2d57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Public Health and Emergency Management, Southern University of Science and Technology","place":["Shenzhen, 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