Clostridium. This genus comprises about 150 metabolically diverse species of anaerobes that are ubiquitous in virtually all anoxic habitats where organic compounds are present, including soils, aquatic sediments and the intestinal tracts of animals and humans. Characteristic of clostridia is the shape of their cells that resembles a drumstick
More...or spindle ("kloster" is Greek for "spindle"). This shape is attributed to the presence of endospores that develop under conditions unfavorable for vegetative growth and distend single cells terminally or sub-terminally. The endospores of many species are extremely sturdy and survive extended boiling in water and exposure to air. Spores germinate under conditions favorable for vegetative growth, such as anaerobiosis and presence of organic substrates. From the evolutionary perspective, clostridia are considered to be the most ancient bacteria. It is believed that present day Mollicutes (Eubacteria) have evolved regressively (i.e., by genome reduction) from gram-positive clostridia-like ancestors with a low GC content in DNA. Several species of clostridia (e.g., C. perfringens, C. botulinum, C. tetani) are known opportunistic toxin-producing pathogens in animals and humans. Some species are capable of producing organic solvents (acetone, ethanol, etc,), molecular hydrogen and other useful compounds. There are also species that can fix molecular nitrogen and thus are important participants in biological turnaround of nitrogen compounds in nature.Clostridium difficile. This species is now recognized as the major causative agent of pseudomembranous colitis (inflammation of the colon) and diarrhea that may occur following antibiotic treatment. C. difficile infection represents one of the most common nosocomial (originating in a hospital) infections. This bacterium causes a wide spectrum of disease, ranging from mild, self-limiting diarrhea to serious diarrhea and, in some cases, complications such as pseudomembrane formation, toxic megacolon (dilation of the colon) and peritonitis, which often lead to lethality among patients. The bacteria produce high molecular mass polypeptide cytotoxins, A and B. Some strains produce only one of the toxins, others produce both. Toxin A causes inflammatory reaction involving hypersecretion of fluid and hemorrhagic necrosis through triggering cytokine release by neutrophils. Cytotoxin B depolymerizes actin, the major protein of the cytoskeleton, and thus aids in destruction of tissues. The combined action of the toxins results in necrosis of superficial epithelium and edema (fluidic swelling) in affected areas of intestine. Proliferation of C. difficile is normally prevented by normal intestinal microflora, which is believed to inhibit attachment of the bacterium and its toxins to intestinal walls. Alteration of intestinal microbial balance with antibiotic therapy and increased exposure to the bacterium in a hospital setting allows C. difficile to colonize susceptible individuals. Moreover, it has been shown that subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics promote increased toxin production by C. difficile. Less...- Antimicrobial Resistance of Clostridioides difficile in Children from a Tertiary Pediatric Hospital in Shanghai, China. Li X, et al. Infect Drug Resist 2024
- Genotypic and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance of Irish Clostridioides difficile isolates, 2022. Brouwer L, et al. Anaerobe 2024 Apr 24
- Emerging Pathogens in Planetary Health and Lessons from Comparative Genome Analyses of Three Clostridia Species. Tanwar AS, et al. OMICS 2023 Jun
- Low-toxin Clostridioides difficile RT027 strains exhibit robust virulence. Anwar F, et al. Emerg Microbes Infect 2022 Dec
- Impact of environmental conditions and gut microbiota on the in vitro germination and growth of Clostridioides difficile. Martinez E, et al. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2022 Oct 29
- Prevalence and phylogenetic relationship of Clostridioides difficile strains in fresh poultry meat samples processed in different cutting plants. Heise J, et al. Int J Food Microbiol 2021 Feb 2
- Systems biology evaluation of refractory Clostridioides difficile infection including multiple failures of fecal microbiota transplantation. Gonzales-Luna AJ, et al. Anaerobe 2021 Aug
- Antimicrobial resistance progression in the United Kingdom: A temporal comparison of Clostridioides difficile antimicrobial susceptibilities. Jon J V, et al. Anaerobe 2021 Aug
- A catalog of tens of thousands of viruses from human metagenomes reveals hidden associations with chronic diseases. Tisza MJ, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 Jun 8
- Caloric restriction disrupts the microbiota and colonization resistance. von Schwartzenberg RJ, et al. Nature 2021 Jul
- Comparative genomic and transmission analysis of Clostridioides difficile between environmental, animal, and clinical sources in China. Zhou Y, et al. Emerg Microbes Infect 2021 Dec
- Natural Clostridioides difficile Toxin Immunization in Colonized Infants. Kociolek LK, et al. Clin Infect Dis 2020 May 6
- MGnify: the microbiome analysis resource in 2020. Mitchell AL, et al. Nucleic Acids Res 2020 Jan 8
- Detection and elimination of a novel non-toxigenic Clostridioides difficile strain from the microbiota of a mouse colony. Maslanka JR, et al. Gut Microbes 2020 Nov 9
- Phenotypic and Genotypic Antibiotic Resistance Patterns in Helicobacter pylori Strains From Ethnically Diverse Population in México. Camorlinga-Ponce M, et al. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020
- Genomic analysis of three Clostridioides difficile isolates from urban water sources. Numberger D, et al. Anaerobe 2019 Apr
- Characterization of Clostridioides difficile ribotypes in domestic dogs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rainha K, et al. Anaerobe 2019 Aug
- FDA-ARGOS is a database with public quality-controlled reference genomes for diagnostic use and regulatory science. Sichtig H, et al. Nat Commun 2019 Jul 25
- Integrated genomic epidemiology and phenotypic profiling of Clostridium difficile across intra-hospital and community populations in Colombia. Muñoz M, et al. Sci Rep 2019 Aug 5
- Necrotizing enterocolitis is preceded by increased gut bacterial replication, Klebsiella, and fimbriae-encoding bacteria. Olm MR, et al. Sci Adv 2019 Dec
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Reference genome: ![Show detailed info plus sign](/sutils/static/ProtMap/plus.gif)
Clostridioides difficile ASM1888508v1
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