Chlamydiae have been known for more than a century as major pathogens of humans. Yet they are also found ubiquitously in the environment where they thrive within protists and in an unmatched wide range of animals. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding chlamydial diversity and distribution in nature. Studying these environmental chlamydiae provides a novel perspective on basic chlamydial biology and evolution. A picture is beginning to emerge with chlamydiae representing one of the evolutionarily most ancient and successful groups of obligate intracellular bacteria.

中文翻译：

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环境中的衣原体。

一个多世纪以来，衣原体一直被认为是人类的主要病原体。然而，它们在原生生物和无与伦比的广泛动物中繁衍生息的环境中也无处不在。这篇综述总结了了解衣原体多样性和自然界分布的最新进展。研究这些环境衣原体为基础衣原体生物学和进化提供了新的视角。衣原体代表了进化上最古老、最成功的专性细胞内细菌群体之一，这一图景正在开始出现。