The regulatory network controlling spore formation in Clostridium difficile
The regulatory network controlling spore formation in Clostridium difficile
Clostridium difficile, a Gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium, is a major cause of nosocomial infections such as antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Spores are the vector of its transmission and persistence in the environment. Despite the importance of spores in the infectious cycle of C. difficile, little was known until recently about the control of spore development in this enteropathogen. In this review, we describe recent advances in our understanding of the regulatory network controlling C. difficile sporulation. The comparison with the model organism Bacillus subtilis highlights major differences in the signaling pathways between the forespore and the mother cell and a weaker connection between morphogenesis and gene expression. Indeed, the activation of the SigE regulon in the mother cell is partially independent of SigF although the forespore protein SpoIIR, itself partially independent of SigF, is essential for pro-SigE processing. Furthermore, SigG activity is not strictly dependent on SigE. Finally, SigG is dispensable for SigK activation in agreement with the absence of a pro-SigK sequence. The excision of the C. difficile skin element is also involved in the regulation of SigK activity. The C. difficile sporulation process might be a simpler, more ancestral version of the program characterized for B. subtilis.
Clostridioides difficile/genetics, Gene Regulatory Networks, Signal Transduction, Spores, Bacterial/genetics
1-10
Saujet, Laure
ce296314-46b2-4c5e-9a6f-b887481c1ce1
Pereira, Fátima C
a9396948-26f9-4f13-8f83-a22fec1dd0e0
Henriques, Adriano O
eb4668e6-bfb0-4df3-bf8e-93dbd1cc5b2d
Martin-Verstraete, Isabelle
53dc87c0-d778-4eb5-bce4-4916d5921e61
September 2014
Saujet, Laure
ce296314-46b2-4c5e-9a6f-b887481c1ce1
Pereira, Fátima C
a9396948-26f9-4f13-8f83-a22fec1dd0e0
Henriques, Adriano O
eb4668e6-bfb0-4df3-bf8e-93dbd1cc5b2d
Martin-Verstraete, Isabelle
53dc87c0-d778-4eb5-bce4-4916d5921e61
Saujet, Laure, Pereira, Fátima C, Henriques, Adriano O and Martin-Verstraete, Isabelle
(2014)
The regulatory network controlling spore formation in Clostridium difficile.
FEMS Microbiology Letters, 358 (1), .
(doi:10.1111/1574-6968.12540).
Abstract
Clostridium difficile, a Gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium, is a major cause of nosocomial infections such as antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Spores are the vector of its transmission and persistence in the environment. Despite the importance of spores in the infectious cycle of C. difficile, little was known until recently about the control of spore development in this enteropathogen. In this review, we describe recent advances in our understanding of the regulatory network controlling C. difficile sporulation. The comparison with the model organism Bacillus subtilis highlights major differences in the signaling pathways between the forespore and the mother cell and a weaker connection between morphogenesis and gene expression. Indeed, the activation of the SigE regulon in the mother cell is partially independent of SigF although the forespore protein SpoIIR, itself partially independent of SigF, is essential for pro-SigE processing. Furthermore, SigG activity is not strictly dependent on SigE. Finally, SigG is dispensable for SigK activation in agreement with the absence of a pro-SigK sequence. The excision of the C. difficile skin element is also involved in the regulation of SigK activity. The C. difficile sporulation process might be a simpler, more ancestral version of the program characterized for B. subtilis.
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Published date: September 2014
Additional Information:
© 2014 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Clostridioides difficile/genetics, Gene Regulatory Networks, Signal Transduction, Spores, Bacterial/genetics
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 470656
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/470656
ISSN: 0378-1097
PURE UUID: 789ca905-b850-4952-b894-e439f0531358
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Date deposited: 17 Oct 2022 16:46
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:14
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Contributors
Author:
Laure Saujet
Author:
Fátima C Pereira
Author:
Adriano O Henriques
Author:
Isabelle Martin-Verstraete
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