Phase variation of a signal transduction system controls Clostridioides difficile colony morphology, motility, and virulence.

ABSTRACT: Recent work has revealed that Clostridioides difficile, a major cause of nosocomial diarrheal disease, exhibits phenotypic heterogeneity within a clonal population as a result of phase variation. Many C. difficile strains representing multiple ribotypes develop two colony morphotypes, termed rough and smooth, but the biological implications of this phenomenon have not been explored. Here, we examine the molecular basis and physiological relevance of the distinct colony morphotypes produced by this bacterium. We show that C. difficile reversibly differentiates into rough and smooth colony morphologies and that bacteria derived from the isolates display discrete motility behaviors. We identified an atypical phase-variable signal transduction system consisting of a histidine kinase and two re

SUBMITTER: Garrett EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6837544 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature