RNA-based control mechanisms of Clostridium difficile
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Updated: Mar 7, 2026

Cefoperazone-treated Mouse Model of Clinically-relevant Clostridium difficile Strain R20291
Published on: December 10, 2016
1Laboratoire Pathogenèse des Bactéries Anaérobies, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France; Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Cellule Pasteur, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France; Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CEA, CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette cedex, France.
Abstract:
Clostridium difficile (CD)-associated diarrhoea is currently the most prevalent nosocomial diarrhoea worldwide. Many characteristics of CD pathogenicity remain poorly understood. Recent data strongly indicate the importance of an RNA network for the control of gene expression in CD. More than 200 regulatory RNAs have been identified by deep sequencing and targeted approaches, including Hfq-dependent trans riboregulators, cis-antisense RNAs, CRISPR RNAs, and c-di-GMP-responsive riboswitches. These regulatory RNAs are involved in the control of major processes in the CD infection cycle, for example motility, biofilm formation, adhesion, sporulation, stress response, and defence against bacteriophages. We will discuss recent advances in elucidation of the original features of RNA-based mechanisms in this important enteropathogen. This knowledge may pave the way for further discoveries in this emergent field.
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