Regulation of Type IV Pili Contributes to Surface Behaviors of Historical and Epidemic Strains of Clostridium difficile.

ABSTRACT:

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The intestinal pathogen Clostridium difficile is an urgent public health threat that causes antibiotic-associated diarrhea and is a leading cause of fatal nosocomial infections in the United States. C. difficile rates of recurrence and mortality have increased in recent years due to the emergence of so-called "hypervirulent" epidemic strains. A great deal of the basic biology of C. difficile has not been characterized. Recent findings that flagellar motility, toxin synthesis, and type IV pilus (TFP) formation are regulated by cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) reveal the importance of this second messenger for C. difficile gene regulation. However, the function(s) of TFP in C. difficile remains largely unknown. Here, we examine TFP-dependent phenotypes and the role of c-di-GM

SUBMITTER: Purcell EB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4719444 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature