Spores of Clostridioides difficile are toxin delivery vehicles.

ABSTRACT: Clostridioides difficile causes a wide range of intestinal diseases through the action of two main cytotoxins, TcdA and TcdB. Ingested spores germinate in the intestine establishing a population of cells that produce toxins and spores. The pathogenicity locus, PaLoc, comprises several genes, including those coding for TcdA/B, for the holin-like TcdE protein, and for TcdR, an auto-regulatory RNA polymerase sigma factor essential for tcdA/B and tcdE expression. Here we show that tcdR, tcdA, tcdB and tcdE are expressed in a fraction of the sporulating cells, in either the whole sporangium or in the forespore. The whole sporangium pattern is due to protracted expression initiated in vegetative cells by σ^D, which primes the TcdR auto-regulatory loop. In contrast, the forespore-specif

SUBMITTER: Cassona CP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11237016 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature