The analysis of <it>para</it>-cresol production and tolerance in <it>Clostridium difficile </it>027 and 012 strains
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Clostridium difficile </it>is the major cause of antibiotic associated diarrhoea and in recent years its increased prevalence has been linked to the emergence of hypervirulent clones such as the PCR-ribotype 027. Char...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMC
2011-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Microbiology |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/11/86 |
| _version_ | 1828492897907900416 |
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| author | McNerney Ruth Bundy Jake Barton Richard H Cartman Stephen T Donahue Elizabeth H Dawson Lisa F Minton Nigel P Wren Brendan W |
| author_facet | McNerney Ruth Bundy Jake Barton Richard H Cartman Stephen T Donahue Elizabeth H Dawson Lisa F Minton Nigel P Wren Brendan W |
| author_sort | McNerney Ruth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Clostridium difficile </it>is the major cause of antibiotic associated diarrhoea and in recent years its increased prevalence has been linked to the emergence of hypervirulent clones such as the PCR-ribotype 027. Characteristically, <it>C. difficile </it>infection (CDI) occurs after treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics, which disrupt the normal gut microflora and allow <it>C. difficile </it>to flourish. One of the relatively unique features of <it>C. difficile </it>is its ability to ferment tyrosine to <it>para</it>-cresol via the intermediate <it>para</it>-hydroxyphenylacetate (<it>p-</it>HPA). <it>P</it>-cresol is a phenolic compound with bacteriostatic properties which <it>C. difficile </it>can tolerate and may provide the organism with a competitive advantage over other gut microflora, enabling it to proliferate and cause CDI. It has been proposed that the <it>hpdBCA </it>operon, rarely found in other gut microflora, encodes the enzymes responsible for the conversion of <it>p-</it>HPA to <it>p</it>-cresol.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that the PCR-ribotype 027 strain R20291 quantitatively produced more <it>p</it>-cresol <it>in-vitro </it>and was significantly more tolerant to <it>p</it>-cresol than the sequenced strain 630 (PCR-ribotype 012). Tyrosine conversion to <it>p</it>-HPA was only observed under certain conditions. We constructed gene inactivation mutants in the <it>hpdBCA </it>operon in strains R20291 and 630Δ<it>erm </it>which curtails their ability to produce <it>p</it>-cresol, confirming the role of these genes in <it>p-</it>cresol production. The mutants were equally able to tolerate <it>p</it>-cresol compared to the respective parent strains, suggesting that tolerance to <it>p</it>-cresol is not linked to its production.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>C. difficile </it>converts tyrosine to <it>p</it>-cresol, utilising the <it>hpdBCA </it>operon in <it>C. difficile </it>strains 630 and R20291. The hypervirulent strain R20291 exhibits increased production of and tolerance to <it>p-</it>cresol, which may be a contributory factor to the virulence of this strain and other hypervirulent PCR-ribotype 027 strains.</p> |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2180 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T11:29:53Z |
| publishDate | 2011-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | BMC Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a8a4543cb8cc4f778bb8a4aebff13ed92022-12-22T01:08:55ZengBMCBMC Microbiology1471-21802011-04-011118610.1186/1471-2180-11-86The analysis of <it>para</it>-cresol production and tolerance in <it>Clostridium difficile </it>027 and 012 strainsMcNerney RuthBundy JakeBarton Richard HCartman Stephen TDonahue Elizabeth HDawson Lisa FMinton Nigel PWren Brendan W<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Clostridium difficile </it>is the major cause of antibiotic associated diarrhoea and in recent years its increased prevalence has been linked to the emergence of hypervirulent clones such as the PCR-ribotype 027. Characteristically, <it>C. difficile </it>infection (CDI) occurs after treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics, which disrupt the normal gut microflora and allow <it>C. difficile </it>to flourish. One of the relatively unique features of <it>C. difficile </it>is its ability to ferment tyrosine to <it>para</it>-cresol via the intermediate <it>para</it>-hydroxyphenylacetate (<it>p-</it>HPA). <it>P</it>-cresol is a phenolic compound with bacteriostatic properties which <it>C. difficile </it>can tolerate and may provide the organism with a competitive advantage over other gut microflora, enabling it to proliferate and cause CDI. It has been proposed that the <it>hpdBCA </it>operon, rarely found in other gut microflora, encodes the enzymes responsible for the conversion of <it>p-</it>HPA to <it>p</it>-cresol.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that the PCR-ribotype 027 strain R20291 quantitatively produced more <it>p</it>-cresol <it>in-vitro </it>and was significantly more tolerant to <it>p</it>-cresol than the sequenced strain 630 (PCR-ribotype 012). Tyrosine conversion to <it>p</it>-HPA was only observed under certain conditions. We constructed gene inactivation mutants in the <it>hpdBCA </it>operon in strains R20291 and 630Δ<it>erm </it>which curtails their ability to produce <it>p</it>-cresol, confirming the role of these genes in <it>p-</it>cresol production. The mutants were equally able to tolerate <it>p</it>-cresol compared to the respective parent strains, suggesting that tolerance to <it>p</it>-cresol is not linked to its production.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>C. difficile </it>converts tyrosine to <it>p</it>-cresol, utilising the <it>hpdBCA </it>operon in <it>C. difficile </it>strains 630 and R20291. The hypervirulent strain R20291 exhibits increased production of and tolerance to <it>p-</it>cresol, which may be a contributory factor to the virulence of this strain and other hypervirulent PCR-ribotype 027 strains.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/11/86 |
| spellingShingle | McNerney Ruth Bundy Jake Barton Richard H Cartman Stephen T Donahue Elizabeth H Dawson Lisa F Minton Nigel P Wren Brendan W The analysis of <it>para</it>-cresol production and tolerance in <it>Clostridium difficile </it>027 and 012 strains BMC Microbiology |
| title | The analysis of <it>para</it>-cresol production and tolerance in <it>Clostridium difficile </it>027 and 012 strains |
| title_full | The analysis of <it>para</it>-cresol production and tolerance in <it>Clostridium difficile </it>027 and 012 strains |
| title_fullStr | The analysis of <it>para</it>-cresol production and tolerance in <it>Clostridium difficile </it>027 and 012 strains |
| title_full_unstemmed | The analysis of <it>para</it>-cresol production and tolerance in <it>Clostridium difficile </it>027 and 012 strains |
| title_short | The analysis of <it>para</it>-cresol production and tolerance in <it>Clostridium difficile </it>027 and 012 strains |
| title_sort | analysis of it para it cresol production and tolerance in it clostridium difficile it 027 and 012 strains |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/11/86 |
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