# Remnant diagnostic samples for high resolution genotyping of Chlamydia trachomatis

> **NIH NIH R03** · OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $74,250

## Abstract

Summary
Chlamydia trachomatis infections in humans cause diseases of the eye and genital tract that affect millions
of people annually. Our understanding of C. trachomatis biology is complicated by its obligate intracellular
nature and a developing, but limited genetic tool kit. Because of the high level of conservation among C.
trachomatis strains found in patients, next-gen sequencing has evolved into a straightforward tool for analysis
of genetic variability of the pathogen. Our laboratory has a goal of monitoring genomic changes in C.
trachomatis isolates circulating in patient populations. This monitoring is significantly affected by the lack of
recent cultured strains, which are becoming increasingly rare as clinics move completely to nucleic acid
amplification testing for chlamydial diagnosis. To address our goal in the current diagnostics climate, we
propose to develop a robotics-based approach for evaluating contemporary strain variability, with deidentified
remnant clinical samples as a source of material. Bioinformatic analysis of all published C. trachomatis
genomes has identified a large library of candidate oligonucleotide primers that can be used to generate
material for sequencing all variable regions of the genome, and we have demonstrated that remnant
diagnostic material is suitable for a PCR-based approach. Draft analyses indicate that all indels and over half
of all nonconservative base changes can be assessed in a set of 96 individual PCR reactions. In Aim 1, we
will carefully evaluate different primer pairs to identify a collection that will cover a maximum fraction of the
genome in a single tray-based amplification format. In Aim 2, we will test our identified primer set in three
increasingly complicated robotics-based assays to assess the utility of the system for examining global
genetic variation in a single high-throughput experiment. The final product of this project will be a flexible
process that can amplify and sequence large collections of specimens and will take approximately one week
to complete. We anticipate that this platform will be useful to basic researchers and clinician scientists
exploring the connections between chlamydial genotype and clinical presentation, and will serve as a model
for employing the approach with other challenging microorganisms for which diagnosis of infection does not
include a culture step.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10108984
- **Project number:** 1R03AI156514-01
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** DANIEL D ROCKEY
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $74,250
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-11-12 → 2022-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10108984

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10108984, Remnant diagnostic samples for high resolution genotyping of Chlamydia trachomatis (1R03AI156514-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10108984. Licensed CC0.

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