Surface layers of Clostridium difficile endospores.

ABSTRACT: Clostridium difficile is an important human pathogen and one where the primary cause of disease is due to the transmission of spores. We have investigated the proteins found in the outer coat layers of C. difficile spores of pathogenic strain 630 (CD630). Five coat proteins, CotA, CotB, CotCB, CotD, and CotE, were shown to be expressed on the outer coat layers of the spore. We demonstrate that purified spores carry catalase, peroxiredoxin, and chitinase activity and that this activity correlates with the predicted functions of three spore coat proteins identified here, CotCB, CotD, and CotE. CotCB and CotD are putative manganese catalases, and CotE is a novel bifunctional protein with peroxiredoxin activity at its amino terminus and chitinase activity at its carboxy terminus. These enzymes

SUBMITTER: Permpoonpattana P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3232898 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature