Clostridium difficile R20291

Clostridium_difficile
Names Clostridium difficile R20291
Accession numbers NC_013316
Background Clostridium difficile, a Gram-positive, spore-forming anaerobic bacterium, is the leading cause of infectious diarrhea among patients in hospitals worldwide, causing C. difficile infection (CDI). An important nosocomial pathogen, it is frequently associated with antibiotic treatment and causes diseases ranging from antibiotic-associated diarrhea to life-threatening pseudomembraneous colitis. Although two important virulence factors of C. difficile have been shown to be exotoxins, toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB), little is known about other factors involved in the adherence and colonization processes. In the past 5 years a new group of highly virulent C. difficile strains has emerged to cause outbreaks of increased disease severity in North America and Europe. Several studies have shown that patients infected with these PCR-ribotype 027 strains have more severe diarrhea, higher mortality and more recurrences.The hypervirulent 027 R20291 was isolated in 2006 following an outbreak in Stoke Mandeville Hospital, UK. It's closely related to the North American hypervirulent BI strains. PCR-ribotype 027 strains are genetically highly uniform. This genome was sequenced and subjected to a three-way genome comparison of a non-epidemic 027 C. difficile strain (CD196, CLODC), a recent epidemic and hypervirulent 027 strain (R20291, this genome) and the previously published PCR-ribotype 012 strain (630, CLOD6). 027 strains have considerable genetic differences compared to strain 630 that may relate to observed phenotypic differences in motility, survival, antibiotic resistance and toxicity. Five genetic regions appear to have accumulated in the modern day epidemic 027 strain R20291 compared to its non-virulent CD196 counterpart. This includes a unique phage island island, a two component regulatory system and transcriptional regulators (adapted from PMID 19781061). (HAMAP: CLODR)
Taxonomy
Kingdom:Bacteria
Phylum:Firmicutes
Class:Clostridia
Order:Clostridiales
Family:Clostridiaceae
Genus:Clostridium
Species:difficile
Strain R20291
Complete Yes
Sequencing centre (06-OCT-2009) National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
(25-AUG-2009) He M., Sulston Building, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton,
Sequencing quality Level 6: Finished
Sequencing depth NA
Sequencing method 454-GS20
Isolation site Stoke Mandeville Hospital, UK in 2006
Isolation country United Kingdom
Number of replicons 1
Gram staining properties Positive
Shape Bacilli
Mobility Yes
Flagellar presence Yes?
Number of membranes 1
Oxygen requirements Anaerobic
Optimal temperature NA
Temperature range Mesophilic
Habitat Multiple
Biotic relationship Free living
Host name Homo sapiens
Cell arrangement Chains, Pairs, Singles
Sporulation Sporulating
Metabolism NA
Energy source Chemoorganotroph
Diseases Antibiotic-associated diarrhea and pseudomembraneous colitis
Pathogenicity Yes