biostudies-literatureLee CDNIDDK NIH HHSNIAID NIH HHSNational Institutes of HealthNIAIDNIDDKNIGMS NIH HHSNIGMS32-38https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9064876biostudies-literatureUnknown66As an anaerobe, Clostridioides difficile relies on the formation of a dormant spore for survival outside of the mammalian host's gastrointestinal tract. The spore is recalcitrant to desiccation, numerous disinfectants, UV light, and antibiotics, permitting long-term survival against environmental insults and efficient transmission from host to host. Although the morphological stages of spore formation are similar between C. difficile and other well-studied endospore-forming bacteria, the C. difficile genome does not appear to encode many of the known, conserved regulatory factors that are necessary to initiate sporulation in other spore-forming bacteria. The absence of early sporulation-specific orthologs suggests that C. difficile has evolved to control sporulation initiation in response Current opinion in microbiologyGenetic mechanisms governing sporulation initiation in Clostridioides difficile.PMC9064876GM008490AI156052AI116933R01 AI156052F31 DK126467R01 AI116933AI106699T32 AI106699T32 GM008490DK126467DiCandia MAVargas Cuebas GGMonteiro MPLee CDEdwards ANMcBride SMRizvi AfalseGenetic mechanisms governing sporulation initiation in Clostridioides difficile.As an anaerobe, Clostridioides difficile relies on the formation of a dormant spore for survival outside of the mammalian host's gastrointestinal tract. The spore is recalcitrant to desiccation, numerous disinfectants, UV light, and antibiotics, permitting long-term survival against environmental insults and efficient transmission from host to host. Although the morphological stages of spore formation are similar between C. difficile and other well-studied endospore-forming bacteria, the C. difficile genome does not appear to encode many of the known, conserved regulatory factors that are necessary to initiate sporulation in other spore-forming bacteria. The absence of early sporulation-specific orthologs suggests that C. difficile has evolved to control sporulation initiation in response 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Apr2025-04-26T04:47:46.281Z2025-04-06T11:12:56.6ZS-EPMC90648763493320610.1016/j.mib.2021.12.001