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Volume 151, Issue 10

Multilocus sequence analysis and comparative evolution of virulence-associated genes and housekeeping genes of Free

Abstract

A multilocus sequence analysis of ten virulence-associated genes was performed to study the genetic relationships between 29 isolates of various origins, hosts and clinical presentations, and selected from the main lineages previously defined by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of housekeeping genes. Colonization-factor-encoding genes (, , , , , and ), toxin A and B genes ( and ), and the toxin A and B positive regulator gene () were investigated. Binary toxin genes ( and ) were also detected, and internal fragments were sequenced for positive isolates. Virulence-associated genes exhibited a moderate polymorphism, comparable to the polymorphism of housekeeping genes, whereas and genes appeared highly polymorphic. Isolates recovered from human pseudomembranous colitis cases did not define a specific lineage. The presence of binary toxin genes, detected in five of the 29 isolates (17 %), was also not linked to clinical presentation. Conversely, toxigenic A−B+ isolates defined a very homogeneous lineage, which is distantly related to other isolates. By clustering analysis, animal isolates were intermixed with human isolates. Multilocus sequence analysis of virulence-associated genes is consistent with a clonal population structure for and with the lack of host specificity. The data suggest a co-evolution of several of the virulence-associated genes studied (including toxins A and B and the binary toxin genes) with housekeeping genes, reflecting the genetic background of , whereas flagellin, and genes may undergo recombination events and/or environmental selective pressure.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
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  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): AAD, antibiotic-associated diarrhoea , MLST, multilocus sequence typing , PaLoc, pathogenicity locus , PMC, pseudo-membranous colitis , ST, sequence type and UPGMA, unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means
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2005-10-01
2024-04-27
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Multilocus sequence analysis and comparative evolution of virulence-associated genes and housekeeping genes of Clostridium difficile
Microbiology 151, 3171 (2005); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.28155-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.28155-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.28155-0
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