ArticleMolecular microbiology2021
Phase-variable expression of pdcB, a phosphodiesterase, influences sporulation in Clostridioides difficile.
Article in Molecular microbiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed.
- A programmed reset mechanism primesScience advances · 2026Article
- Phase variable colony morphotypes ofInfection and immunity · 2026Article
- Naturally Occurring CodY Variants Alter Ligand Binding, DNA Target Affinity, and Virulence in Clostridioides difficile.Molecular microbiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Contact dependent suppression ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Phase variable colony morphotypes ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Phase variation of Clostridioides difficile colony morphology occurs via modulation of cell division.PLoS pathogens · 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
- Regulatory networks: Linking toxin production and sporulation in Clostridioides difficile.Anaerobe · 2025Review
- 100+ years of phase variation: the premier bacterial bet-hedging phenomenon.Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2025Review
- Phase Variation of Flagella and Toxins in Clostridioides difficile is Mediated by Selective Rho-dependent Termination.Journal of molecular biology · 2024Article
- Clostridioides difficile Sporulation.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Review
- Evolution of cyclic di-GMP signalling on a short and long term time scale.Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2023Article
- Article
- Food for thought-The link between Clostridioides difficile metabolism and pathogenesis.PLoS pathogens · 2023Review
- Coordinated modulation of multiple processes through phase variation of a c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase in Clostridioides difficile.PLoS pathogens · 2022Article
- Article
- Genetic mechanisms governing sporulation initiation in Clostridioides difficile.Current opinion in microbiology · 2022Review
- Regulation of Clostridioides difficile toxin production.Current opinion in microbiology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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2 authors.
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Abstract
Clostridioides difficile is the causative agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and is the leading cause of nosocomial infection in developed countries. An increasing number of C. difficile infections are attributed to epidemic strains that produce more toxins and spores. C. difficile spores are the major factor for the transmission and persistence of the organism. Previous studies have identified global regulators that influence sporulation in C. difficile. This study discovers that PdcB, a phosphodiesterase, enhances sporulation in C. difficile strain UK1. Through genetic and biochemical assays, we show that phase-variable expression of pdcB results in hypo- and hyper-sporulation phenotypes. In the "ON" orientation, the identified promotor is in the right orientation to drive the expression of pdcB. Production of the PdcB phosphodiesterase reduces the intracellular cyclic-di-GMP (c-di-GMP) concentration, resulting in a hyper-sporulation phenotype. Loss of PdcB due to the pdcB promoter being in the OFF orientation or mutation of pdcB results in increased c-di-GMP levels and a hypo-sporulation phenotype. Additionally, we demonstrate that CodY binds to the upstream region of pdcB. DNA inversion reorients the CodY binding site so that in the OFF orientation, CodY binds a site that is upstream of the pdcB promoter and can further repress gene expression.
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