ArticlePLoS genetics2017
A genetic switch controls the production of flagella and toxins in Clostridium difficile.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 79 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
79 citing papers in PubMed, 109 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acquisition of a gene cluster inmSphere · 2026Article
- A programmed reset mechanism primesScience advances · 2026Article
- To Move or Not to Move: When and How Bacteria Suppress Flagellar Motility.Molecular microbiology · 2026Review
- Phase variable colony morphotypes ofInfection and immunity · 2026Article
- Article
- In situ visualization of Clostridioides difficile phenotypic heterogeneity and single-cell morphology during gut infection.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Phase variable colony morphotypes ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Decoding the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of bacterial virulence gene expression using single-cell approaches.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Dissecting the role of flagellar subunits inJournal of bacteriology · 2025Article
- Phase variation of Clostridioides difficile colony morphology occurs via modulation of cell division.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Immune Aspects of Clostridioides difficile Infection and Vaccine Development.Infectious disease clinics of North America · 2025Review
- Maximizing bacterial survival: integrating sense-and-respond and bet-hedging mechanisms.Trends in microbiology · 2025Review
- Characterization of two co-regulated response regulators inJournal of bacteriology · 2025Article
- Article
- A targeted cell lysis mechanism facilitates toxin release in Clostridioides difficile.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Flagellar switch inverted repeats impact heterogeneity in flagellar gene expression and thus C. difficile RT027/MLST1 virulence.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Unique growth and morphology properties of Clade 5bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Unique growth and morphology properties of Clade 5 Clostridioides difficile strains revealed by single-cell time-lapse microscopy.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Allele-linked divergence in SlpA and TcdB drives distinct immune and cytotoxic responses that distinguish ST01 from non-ST01 strains in Clade 2 Clostridioides difficile.Access microbiology · 2025Article
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
In the human intestinal pathogen Clostridium difficile, flagella promote adherence to intestinal epithelial cells. Flagellar gene expression also indirectly impacts production of the glucosylating toxins, which are essential to diarrheal disease development. Thus, factors that regulate the expression of the flgB operon will likely impact toxin production in addition to flagellar motility. Here, we report the identification a "flagellar switch" that controls the phase variable production of flagella and glucosylating toxins. The flagellar switch, located upstream of the flgB operon containing the early stage flagellar genes, is a 154 bp invertible sequence flanked by 21 bp inverted repeats. Bacteria with the sequence in one orientation expressed flagellum and toxin genes, produced flagella, and secreted the toxins ("flg phase ON"). Bacteria with the sequence in the inverse orientation were attenuated for flagellar and toxin gene expression, were aflagellate, and showed decreased toxin secretion ("flg phase OFF"). The orientation of the flagellar switch is reversible during growth in vitro. We provide evidence that gene regulation via the flagellar switch occurs post-transcription initiation and requires a C. difficile-specific regulatory factor to destabilize or degrade the early flagellar gene mRNA when the flagellar switch is in the OFF orientation. Lastly, through mutagenesis and characterization of flagellar phase locked isolates, we determined that the tyrosine recombinase RecV, which catalyzes inversion at the cwpV switch, is also responsible for inversion at the flagellar switch in both directions. Phase variable flagellar motility and toxin production suggests that these important virulence factors have both advantageous and detrimental effects during the course of infection.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.