A Recombination Directionality Factor Controls the Cell Type-Specific Activation of σK and the Fidelity of Spore Development in Clostridium difficile.

ABSTRACT: The strict anaerobe Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of nosocomial diarrhea, and the oxygen-resistant spores that it forms have a central role in the infectious cycle. The late stages of sporulation require the mother cell regulatory protein σK. In Bacillus subtilis, the onset of σK activity requires both excision of a prophage-like element (skinBs) inserted in the sigK gene and proteolytical removal of an inhibitory pro-sequence. Importantly, the rearrangement is restricted to the mother cell because the skinBs recombinase is produced specifically in this cell. In C. difficile, σK lacks a pro-sequence but a skinCd element is present. The product of the skinCd gene CD1231 shares similarity with large serine recombinases. We show that CD1231 is necessary for sporulation and sk

SUBMITTER: Serrano M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5025042 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature