Chlamydia trachomatis

**Semantic type:** Bacterium

**Definition:** A species of facultatively aerobic, Gram-negative, coccobacilli assigned to the phylum Chlamydiae. This species cannot be grown on an artificial medium, lacks peptidoglycan within the cell wall, forms elementary and reticulate bodies and can be identified using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to epitopes in the VS 4 region of MOMP along with DNA sequencing. C. trachomatis is an obligate intracellular parasite that can be transmitted through sexual contact causing infections of the genital tract and rectum and infertility in women, as well as cause eye infections.

**Synonyms:** - CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS - CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS