AUTHOR=Wan Weiqiang , Li Danni , Li Dan , Jiao Jun 

TITLE=Advances in genetic manipulation of Chlamydia trachomatis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1209879

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2023.1209879

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Chlamydia trachomatis</italic>, one species of <italic>Chlamydia</italic> spp., has the greatest impact on human health and is the main cause of bacterial sexually transmitted diseases and preventable blindness among all <italic>Chamydia</italic> spp. species. The obligate intracellular parasitism and unique biphasic developmental cycle of <italic>C. trachomatis</italic> are the main barriers for the development of tools of genetic manipulation. The past decade has witnessed significant gains in genetic manipulation of <italic>C. trachomatis</italic>, including chemical mutagenesis, group II intron-based targeted gene knockout, fluorescence-reported allelic exchange mutagenesis (FRAEM), CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) and the recently developed transposon mutagenesis. In this review, we discuss the current status of genetic manipulations of <italic>C. trachomatis</italic> and highlights new challenges in the nascent field of <italic>Chlamydia</italic> genetics.</p>