Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31386902›Full record

ArticleAnaerobe2019

Single cell analysis of nutrient regulation of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile motility.

David S Courson, Astha Pokhrel, Cody Scott, Melissa Madrill, Alden J Rinehold, Rita Tamayo, Richard E Cheney, Erin B Purcell

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Anaerobe, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Unique growth and morphology properties of Clade 5bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Journal of bacteriology · 2025
    Review
  4. International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Frontiers in microbiology · 2023
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Frontiers in microbiology · 2021
    Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

David S CoursonDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
Astha PokhrelDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
Cody ScottDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
Melissa MadrillDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
Alden J RineholdDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
Rita TamayoDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Richard E CheneyDepartment of Cell Biology and Physiology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Erin B PurcellDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA. Electronic address: epurcell@odu.edu.
Old Dominion University · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Funding

Regulation of Clostridium difficile Colonization FactorsR01AI107029 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI TAMAYO, RITA · 2013 to 2022
$3.9M
The filopodial tip complex in adhesion, migration, and signalingR01GM134531 · NIGMS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI CHENEY, RICHARD E · 2019 to 2022
$1.8M
Phase variation of virulence factors in Clostridioides difficileR37AI107029 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI RITA TAMAYO · 2025 to 2026
$1.0M
The Role of the Stringent Response in Clostridium difficile Survival and VirulenceK22AI118929 · NIAID · OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY · PI PURCELL, ERIN BRIDGET · 2016 to 2017
$270k
NIAID NIH HHS K22 AI118929NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI107029NIAID NIH HHS R37 AI107029NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM134531
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Regulation of bacterial motility to maximize nutrient acquisition or minimize exposure to harmful substances plays an important role in microbial proliferation and host colonization. The technical difficulties of performing high-resolution live microscopy on anaerobes have hindered mechanistic studies of motility in Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium) difficile. Here, we present a widely applicable protocol for live cell imaging of anaerobic bacteria that has allowed us to characterize C. difficile swimming at the single-cell level. This accessible method for anaerobic live cell microscopy enables inquiry into previously inaccessible aspects of C. difficile physiology and behavior. We present the first report that vegetative C. difficile are capable of regulated motility in the presence of different nutrients. We demonstrate that the epidemic C. difficile strain R20291 exhibits regulated motility in the presence of multiple nutrient sources by modulating its swimming velocity. This is a powerful illustration of the ability of single-cell studies to explain population-wide phenomena such as dispersal through the environment.

Indexed as

Clostridioides difficileIntravital MicroscopyLocomotionNutrientsNutrientsClostridioides (Clostridium) difficileLive cell anaerobic microscopyMotility regulationNutrient regulation

Identifiers

PMID31386902
PMCPMC6785396
OpenAlexW2964353231

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.