Diverse temperate bacteriophage carriage in Clostridium difficile 027 strains.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The hypervirulent Clostridium difficile ribotype 027 can be classified into subtypes, but it unknown if these differ in terms of severity of C. difficile infection (CDI). Genomic studies of C. difficile 027 strains have established that they are rich in mobile genetic elements including prophages. This study combined physiological studies, electron microscopy analysis and molecular biology to determine the potential role of temperate bacteriophages in disease and diversity of C. difficile 027.

Methodology/principal findings

We induced prophages from 91 clinical C. difficile 027 isolates and used transmission electron microscopy and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to characterise the bacteriophages present. We established a correlation between phage morphology and

SUBMITTER: Nale JY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3356267 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature