ABSTRACT
Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia psittaci are obligate intracellular parasitic bacteria. The metabolic capabilities of chlamydiae are limited; most noticeably, they appear to lack the ability to generate net Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and are speculated to be “energy parasites.” Definitive studies on the metabolism of chlamydiae are extraordinarily difficult. Moulder speculated that chlamydiae are energy parasites incapable of generating net ATP. The addition of cycloheximide to infected cells incubating in deficient medium also activated the latent chlamydial infection because it stimulated the incorporation of host protein-derived isoleucine into chlamydial protein. The first indication that chlamydiae contain both RNA and DNA was provided by the cytochemical studies of T. J. Starr et al. and L. H. Collier. The length of the chlamydial developmental cycle varies, depending upon the cultural conditions and strain in question. Development of a manageable method of growing chlamydiae on an artificial culture medium would serve several useful functions.
