Strain-Dependent RstA Regulation of Clostridioides difficile Toxin Production and Sporulation.

ABSTRACT: The anaerobic spore former Clostridioides difficile causes significant diarrheal disease in humans and other mammals. Infection begins with the ingestion of dormant spores, which subsequently germinate within the host gastrointestinal tract. There, the vegetative cells proliferate and secrete two exotoxins, TcdA and TcdB, which cause disease symptoms. Although spore formation and toxin production are critical for C. difficile pathogenesis, the regulatory links between these two physiological processes are not well understood and are strain dependent. Previously, we identified a conserved C. difficile regulator, RstA, that promotes sporulation initiation through an unknown mechanism and directly and indirectly represses toxin and motility gene transcription in the histo

SUBMITTER: Edwards AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6941533 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature