ArticlePathogens and disease2016
Type IV pili promote early biofilm formation by Clostridium difficile.
Article in Pathogens and disease, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- Disruption ofJournal of medical microbiology · 2026Article
- Insight into the relationship between type IV pilus function and biofilm formation.Biochemical Society transactions · 2026Review
- Article
- Community-AcquiredInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Functional Analysis of the Major Pilin Proteins of Type IV Pili inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Review
- Clostridioides difficile Biofilm.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Article
- Genetic and Phenotypic Analysis of Phage-Resistant Mutant Fitness Triggered by Phage-Host Interactions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Review of the Impact of Biofilm Formation on RecurrentMicroorganisms · 2023Review
- A nosocomial Pseudomonas aeruginosa ST3495 isolated from a wild Burmese python (Python bivittatus) with suppurative pneumonia and bacteremia in Hainan, China.Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] · 2023Article
- Biofilm Formation ofMicroorganisms · 2023Review
- Type IV Pilus-Mediated Inhibition ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2023Article
- The cell wall lipoprotein CD1687 acts as a DNA binding protein during deoxycholate-induced biofilm formation in Clostridioides difficile.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2023Article
- Regulatory transcription factors ofCritical reviews in microbiology · 2023Review
- Review
- Bacterial biofilms in the human body: prevalence and impacts on health and disease.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Review
- Type IV Pili Are a Critical Virulence Factor in Clinical Isolates of Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus.mBio · 2022Article
- Prevalence of Type IV Pili-Mediated Twitching Motility in Streptococcus sanguinis Strains and Its Impact on Biofilm Formation and Host Adherence.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2022Article
- Landmark Discoveries and Recent Advances in Type IV Pilus Research.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2022Review
- Biological foundations of successful bacteriophage therapy.EMBO molecular medicine · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Increasing morbidity and mortality from Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) present an enormous challenge to healthcare systems. Clostridium difficile express type IV pili (T4P), but their function remains unclear. Many chronic and recurrent bacterial infections result from biofilms, surface-associated bacterial communities embedded in an extracellular matrix. CDI may be biofilm mediated; T4P are important for biofilm formation in a number of organisms. We evaluate the role of T4P in C. difficile biofilm formation using RNA sequencing, mutagenesis and complementation of the gene encoding the major pilin pilA1, and microscopy. RNA sequencing demonstrates that, in comparison to other growth phenotypes, C. difficile growing in a biofilm has a distinct RNA expression profile, with significant differences in T4P gene expression. Microscopy of T4P-expressing and T4P-deficient strains suggests that T4P play an important role in early biofilm formation. A non-piliated pilA1 mutant forms an initial biofilm of significantly reduced mass and thickness in comparison to the wild type. Complementation of the pilA1 mutant strain leads to formation of a biofilm which resembles the wild-type biofilm. These findings suggest that T4P play an important role in early biofilm formation. Novel strategies for confronting biofilm infections are emerging; our data suggest that similar strategies should be investigated in CDI.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.