Waddlia is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of bacteria

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

 in its own family, Waddliaceae. Species in this genus have a Chlamydia

Chlamydia (bacterium)

Chlamydia is a genus of bacteria that are obligate intracellular parasites. Chlamydia infections are the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infections in humans and are the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide....

-like cycle of replication and their ribosomal RNA

Ribosomal RNA

Ribosomal ribonucleic acid is the RNA component of the ribosome, the enzyme that is the site of protein synthesis in all living cells. Ribosomal RNA provides a mechanism for decoding mRNA into amino acids and interacts with tRNAs during translation by providing peptidyl transferase activity...

 genes are 80–90% identical to ribosomal genes in the Chlamydiaceae

Chlamydiaceae

Chlamydiaceae is a family of bacteria that belongs to the Phylum Chlamydiae, Order Chlamydiales. All Chlamydiaceae species are Gram-negative and express the family-specific lipopolysaccharide epitope αKdo--αKdo--αKdo . Chlamydiaceae ribosomal RNA genes all have at least 90% DNA sequence identity...

.

The type species is Waddlia chondrophila strain WSU 86-1044T, which was isolated from the tissues of a first-trimester aborted bovine fetus

Fetus

A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...

. Isolated in 1986, this species was originally characterized as a Rickettsia

Rickettsia

Rickettsia is a genus of non-motile, Gram-negative, non-sporeforming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that can present as cocci , rods or thread-like . Being obligate intracellular parasites, the Rickettsia survival depends on entry, growth, and replication within the cytoplasm of eukaryotic host cells...

. DNA sequencing

DNA sequencing

DNA sequencing includes several methods and technologies that are used for determining the order of the nucleotide bases—adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine—in a molecule of DNA....

 of the ribosomal genes corrected the characterization. Another W. chondrophila strain, 2032/99, was found along with Neospora caninum

Neospora caninum

Neospora caninum is a coccidian parasite that was identified as a species in 1988. Prior to this, it was misclassified as Toxoplasma gondii due to structural similarities. The genome sequence of Neospora caninum is determined by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute...

in a septic

Septic

Septic may refer to:* Septic tank, a component of a small scale sewage disposal system* Septic equation, a polynomial equation of degree seven* Septic shock...

 stillborn calf.

The species Waddlia malaysiensis G817 has been proposed. W. malaysiensis was identified in the urine of Malaysian fruit bats (Eonycteris spelaea

Eonycteris spelaea

Cave Nectar Bat , common names also include Dawn Bat, Common Dawn Bat, Common Nectar Bat and Lesser Dawn Bat , is a species of megabat within the genus Eonycteris. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montanes and caves, and it is threatened by habitat loss. E...

).