Abstract
Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is a major bacterial pathogen of both humans and animals. Several species of pathogenic clostridia are known to harbour large plasmids with combinations of virulence, antibiotic resistance and metabolism determinants. Small cryptic plasmids have been previously identified in C. difficile, but there is a lack of recent work examining the prevalence and heterogeneity of plasmids in this diverse bacterial species. A survey of clinical and historical isolates of C. difficile showed that several strains carry large plasmids. Following whole-genome sequencing of these diverse strains, 42-47 kb plasmids with high nucleotide identity were found to be carried in 4.9% (n = 451) of isolates, with no firm connection to the strain backgrounds. These plasmids appear to have arisen as a result of recombination with a bacteriophage, but contain key plasmid features, such as a putative plasmid replication and partitioning locus. As no virulence factors or antibiotic resistance determinants were identified, further work is required to identify the selective advantage that must exist for the host isolates to maintain these large plasmids.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 25-38 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Plasmid |
| Volume | 96-97 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2018 |
Keywords
- Bacteriophages
- Clostridium difficile
- Partitioning locus
- Phylogenetic analysis
- Plasmids
- Replication
Cite this
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Identification of large cryptic plasmids in Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile. / Amy, Jacob; Bulach, Dieter; Knight, Daniel; Riley, Tom; Johanesen, Priscilla; Lyras, Dena.
In: Plasmid, Vol. 96-97, 01.03.2018, p. 25-38.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Identification of large cryptic plasmids in Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile
AU - Amy, Jacob
AU - Bulach, Dieter
AU - Knight, Daniel
AU - Riley, Tom
AU - Johanesen, Priscilla
AU - Lyras, Dena
PY - 2018/3/1
Y1 - 2018/3/1
N2 - Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is a major bacterial pathogen of both humans and animals. Several species of pathogenic clostridia are known to harbour large plasmids with combinations of virulence, antibiotic resistance and metabolism determinants. Small cryptic plasmids have been previously identified in C. difficile, but there is a lack of recent work examining the prevalence and heterogeneity of plasmids in this diverse bacterial species. A survey of clinical and historical isolates of C. difficile showed that several strains carry large plasmids. Following whole-genome sequencing of these diverse strains, 42-47 kb plasmids with high nucleotide identity were found to be carried in 4.9% (n = 451) of isolates, with no firm connection to the strain backgrounds. These plasmids appear to have arisen as a result of recombination with a bacteriophage, but contain key plasmid features, such as a putative plasmid replication and partitioning locus. As no virulence factors or antibiotic resistance determinants were identified, further work is required to identify the selective advantage that must exist for the host isolates to maintain these large plasmids.
AB - Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is a major bacterial pathogen of both humans and animals. Several species of pathogenic clostridia are known to harbour large plasmids with combinations of virulence, antibiotic resistance and metabolism determinants. Small cryptic plasmids have been previously identified in C. difficile, but there is a lack of recent work examining the prevalence and heterogeneity of plasmids in this diverse bacterial species. A survey of clinical and historical isolates of C. difficile showed that several strains carry large plasmids. Following whole-genome sequencing of these diverse strains, 42-47 kb plasmids with high nucleotide identity were found to be carried in 4.9% (n = 451) of isolates, with no firm connection to the strain backgrounds. These plasmids appear to have arisen as a result of recombination with a bacteriophage, but contain key plasmid features, such as a putative plasmid replication and partitioning locus. As no virulence factors or antibiotic resistance determinants were identified, further work is required to identify the selective advantage that must exist for the host isolates to maintain these large plasmids.
KW - Bacteriophages
KW - Clostridium difficile
KW - Partitioning locus
KW - Phylogenetic analysis
KW - Plasmids
KW - Replication
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052621730&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.plasmid.2018.04.001
DO - 10.1016/j.plasmid.2018.04.001
M3 - Article
VL - 96-97
SP - 25
EP - 38
JO - Plasmid
JF - Plasmid
SN - 0147-619X
ER -