Entschlüsselung eines neuen Austrittswegs von Chlamydien

Chlamydia spp. are pathogenic bacteria sharing an obligate intracellular cycle of development including host cell invasion, intracellular replication and egress. In the past, egress of Chlamydia spp. was described to be either lytic or non-lytic extrusion formation. Recently, we characterized an additional novel non-lytic egress pathway: Chlamydia-containing sphere formation. It is the predominant egress type for C. psittaci and the predominant non-lytic egress type for C. trachomatis, underlining its relevance for Chlamydia biology.