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Culturing and Maintaining Clostridium difficile in an Anaerobic Environment
Published on: September 14, 2013
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Highly Divergent Clostridium difficile Strains Isolated from the Environment.
Sandra Janezic1,2, Mojca Potocnik1, Valerija Zidaric1
1National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food (NLZOH), Maribor, Slovenia.
Plos One
|November 24, 2016
Summary
The environment, including puddle water and soil, harbors Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). This ubiquitous bacterium shows diverse genetic makeup and antimicrobial resistance, suggesting it is a potential reservoir.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Environmental Science
- Genetics
Background:
- Clostridium difficile is a significant pathogen in humans and animals.
- The bacterium is widespread in various environments.
- Limited research exists on C. difficile in less-studied environmental sources like puddle water and soil.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of C. difficile in environmental samples.
- To characterize antimicrobial resistance patterns of environmental C. difficile isolates.
- To explore the phylogenetic distinctiveness of novel C. difficile strains found in the environment.
Main Methods:
- Sampling of puddle water (n=104) and soil (n=79).
- Isolation and identification of C. difficile.
- Antimicrobial resistance profiling.
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) ribotyping.
- Multilocus Sequence Analysis (MLSA).
Main Results:
- C. difficile was detected in 14.4% of puddle water and 36.7% of soil samples.
- Environmental isolates exhibited antimicrobial resistance similar to human and animal strains.
- 34 PCR ribotypes were identified, with 52.9% previously known in humans/animals.
- 14 novel PCR ribotypes were discovered, mostly non-toxigenic.
- MLSA revealed that new environmental C. difficile strains are phylogenetically distinct, forming three divergent clades, two previously undescribed.
Conclusions:
- The environment serves as a reservoir for a genetically diverse population of C. difficile.
- Environmental C. difficile strains share antimicrobial resistance profiles with clinical isolates.
- Novel, phylogenetically distinct C. difficile clades exist in the environment, expanding our understanding of the bacterium's diversity.
