Characterization of Clostridium difficile Spores Lacking Either SpoVAC or Dipicolinic Acid Synthetase.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

The spore-forming obligate anaerobe Clostridium difficile is a leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea around the world. In order for C. difficile to cause infection, its metabolically dormant spores must germinate in the gastrointestinal tract. During germination, spores degrade their protective cortex peptidoglycan layers, release dipicolinic acid (DPA), and hydrate their cores. In C. difficile, cortex hydrolysis is necessary for DPA release, whereas in Bacillus subtilis, DPA release is necessary for cortex hydrolysis. Given this difference, we tested whether DPA synthesis and/or release was required for C. difficile spore germination by constructing mutations in either spoVAC or dpaAB, which encode an ion channel predicted to transport DPA into the forespore a

SUBMITTER: Donnelly ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4959285 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature