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Updated: Mar 7, 2026

Phage Phenomics: Physiological Approaches to Characterize Novel Viral Proteins

Phage Phenomics: Physiological Approaches to Characterize Novel Viral Proteins

Published on: June 11, 2015

A Clostridioides difficile bacteriophage genome encodes functional binary toxin-associated genes.

Thomas Riedel¹, Johannes Wittmann², Boyke Bunk³

¹Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Inhoffenstraße 7B, Braunschweig, Germany; North German Center of Microbial Genomics, Germany.

Journal of Biotechnology

|February 21, 2017

Summary

Researchers discovered a bacteriophage genome associated with Clostridioides difficile. This phage, phiSemix9P1, uniquely carries a complete binary toxin locus, offering new insights into C. difficile virulence factors.

Keywords:

Bacteriophage Binary toxin Clostridioides difficile Clostridium Clostridium difficile Firmicutes Genome evolution

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Phage Phenomics: Physiological Approaches to Characterize Novel Viral Proteins

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Published on: June 11, 2015

Understanding the Impact of Temperate Bacteriophages on Their Lysogens Through Transcriptomics

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Published on: October 31, 2014

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Genomics
Bacteriophage Research

Background:

Pathogenic clostridia, including Clostridioides difficile, cause severe diseases through toxin production.
Toxin genes in many clostridia are plasmid-borne, but C. difficile has only shown chromosomal toxin genes.
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and can influence bacterial virulence.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine, annotate, and analyze the complete genome of a bacteriophage associated with C. difficile.
To investigate the presence and location of toxin-encoding genes within this bacteriophage genome.
To understand the potential role of bacteriophages in C. difficile pathogenicity.

Main Methods:

Single-molecule real-time sequencing (SMRT) technology was employed for genome sequencing.
Bioinformatic tools were used for genome annotation and analysis.
Comparative genomics approaches were utilized to identify toxin loci.

Main Results:

The complete genome of the bacteriophage phiSemix9P1, associated with C. difficile, was successfully sequenced and analyzed.
phiSemix9P1 harbors a complete and functional binary toxin locus within its genome.
This finding is novel, as it is the first identified C. difficile-associated bacteriophage carrying such a toxin gene cluster.

Conclusions:

The bacteriophage phiSemix9P1 represents a significant discovery in C. difficile research.
The presence of a binary toxin locus on the phage genome suggests a potential mechanism for toxin gene transfer and dissemination in C. difficile.
Further research is warranted to explore the functional implications of this phage-borne toxin locus on C. difficile virulence and disease pathogenesis.