Bacteriophages Contribute to Shaping Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile Species.

ABSTRACT: Bacteriophages (phages) are bacterial viruses that parasitize bacteria. They are highly prevalent in nature, with an estimated 10³¹ viral particles in the whole biosphere, and they outnumber bacteria by at least 10-fold. Hence, phages represent important drivers of bacterial evolution, although our knowledge of the role played by phages in the mammalian gut is still embryonic. Several pathogens owe their virulence to the integrated phages (prophages) they harbor, which encode diverse virulence factors such as toxins. Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is an important opportunistic pathogen and several phages infecting this species have been described over the last decade. However, their exact contribution to the biology and virulence of this pathogen remains elusive.

SUBMITTER: Fortier LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6127314 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature