Unraveling the basic biology and clinical significance of the chlamydial plasmid

Chlamydial plasmids are small, highly conserved, nonconjugative, and nonintegrative DNA molecules that are nearly ubiquitous in many chlamydial species, including Chlamydia trachomatis. There has been significant recent progress in understanding chlamydial plasmid participation in host–microbe interactions, disease, and immune responses. Work in mouse model systems and, very recently, in nonhuman primates demonstrates that plasmid-deficient chlamydial strains function as live attenuated vaccines against genital and ocular infections. Collectively, these studies open new avenues of research into developing vaccines against trachoma and sexually transmitted chlamydial infections.