Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42721035›Full record

ReviewCell reports2026

From colonization to infection: Genomic evolution of Clostridioides difficile pathogenesis.

Sakshi Khanna, Zhewen Yang, Erik R Dubberke, Gautam Dantas

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cell reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

4 authors.

Sakshi KhannaThe Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Zhewen YangThe Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Erik R DubberkeDivision of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. Electronic address: edubberk@wustl.edu.
Gautam DantasThe Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. Electronic address: dantas@wustl.edu.

Funding

Scientific CoreP01AI197197 · NIAID · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI ERIK R DUBBERKE · 2026 to 2026
$4.4M
High-resolution genomic interrogation of pathogen-microbiome interactions in Clostridioides difficile infectionR01AI184858 · NIAID · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI ERIK R DUBBERKE, Gautam Dantas · 2024 to 2026
$2.3M
Culturomic and metagenomic methods optimization to detect multi-strain C. difficile colonization and infectionR21AI188191 · NIAID · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI ERIK R DUBBERKE, Gautam Dantas · 2025 to 2026
$428k
NIAID NIH HHS P01 AI197197NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI184858NIAID NIH HHS R21 AI188191
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Clostridioides difficile is a spore-forming, toxin-producing anaerobe that is a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections. Its success as a pathogen reflects a complex interplay between bacterial evolution, virulence regulation, ecological adaptation, environmental selection, and host susceptibility. Comparative genomics has revealed deep C. difficile lineage diversification, driven by mobile genetic elements and selective pressures from antibiotics and host environments. These events affect strain-specific virulence by shaping the organization and regulation of the pathogenicity toxin loci, metabolic adaptations for nutrient utilization, and enhanced spore resilience. This review integrates evolutionary and genomic perspectives to illustrate how adaptive diversification has sculpted C. difficile pathogenesis and epidemic success.

Indexed as

Clostridioides difficileClostridium InfectionsEvolution, MolecularGenome, BacterialBacterial ToxinsGenomicsHumansVirulenceBacterial ToxinsClostridioides difficileCP: microbiologyevolutionpathogenesistoxins

Identifiers

PMID42721035
PMCPMC13626729

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.