RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Chlamydia pneumoniae has recently been established as an important cause of acute respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis in humans. The purpose of our study was to define the sequence of the C. pneumoniae omp1 gene. METHODS: The omp1 gene of C. pneumoniae was amplified by touchdown polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on sputum samples. The PCR product was cloned into pT7Blue T-Vector using the TA cloning technique. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned omp1 gene was determined with the Cy5TM AutoReaderTM Sequencing Kit. RESULTS: We designated the cloned PCR product as CpT-207. The sequence of CpT-207 DNA was 96%-100% identical to the omp1 gene of C. pneumoniae isolated from other countries. CONCLUSIONS: The sequence analysis of CpT-207 DNA was almost identical to the sequences of the omp1 gene of C. pneumoniae isolated from other countries. The CpT-207 can be used as a control or a probe for the molecular diagnosis of C. pneumoniae.