Epigenomic characterization of Clostridioides difficile finds a conserved DNA methyltransferase that mediates sporulation and pathogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium) difficile is a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections. Although considerable progress has been made in the understanding of its genome, the epigenome of C. difficile and its functional impact has not been systematically explored. Here, we perform a comprehensive DNA methylome analysis of C. difficile using 36 human isolates and observe a high level of epigenomic diversity. We discovered an orphan DNA methyltransferase with a well-defined specificity, the corresponding gene of which is highly conserved across our dataset and in all of the approximately 300 global C. difficile genomes examined. Inactivation of the methyltransferase gene negatively impacts sporulation, a key step in C. difficile disease transmission, and these results are consi

SUBMITTER: Oliveira PH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6925328 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature