Journal
ANAEROBE
Volume 49, Issue -, Pages 78-84Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2017.12.005
Keywords
Plasmid; Replicon; Helicase; Replication
Categories
Funding
- Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research [VIDI 016.141.310]
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Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive and sporulating enteropathogen that is a major cause of healthcare-associated infections. Even though a large number of genomes of this species have been sequenced, only a few plasmids have been described in the literature. Here, we use a combination of in silico analyses and laboratory experiments to show that plasmids are common in C. difficile. We focus on a group of plasmids that share similarity with the plasmid pCD630, from the reference strain 630. The family of pCD630-like plasmids is defined by the presence of a conserved putative helicase that is likely part of the plasmid replicon. This replicon is compatible with at least some other C. difficile replicons, as strains can carry pCD630-like plasmids in addition to other plasmids. We find two distinct sub-groups of pCD630-like plasmids that differ in size and accessory modules. This study is the first to describe a family of plasmids in C. difficile. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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