Using endogenous CRISPR-Cas system for genome editing in the human pathogen Clostridium difficile.

Using endogenous CRISPR-Cas system for genome editing in the human pathogen Clostridium difficile. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2019 Aug 09;: Authors: Maikova A, Kreis V, Boutserin A, Severinov K, Soutourina O Abstract Human enteropathogen Clostridium difficile constitutes a key public health issue in industrialized countries. Many aspects of C. difficile pathophysiology and adaptation inside the host remain poorly understood. We have recently reported that this bacterium possesses an active CRISPR-Cas system of subtype I-B for defence against phages and other mobile genetic elements that could contribute to its success during infection. In this paper, we demonstrate that redirecting this endogenous CRISPR-Cas system towards autoimmunity allows efficient genome editing in C. difficile We provide detailed description of this newly developed approach and show, as a proof of principle, its efficient application for deletion of a specific gene in reference 630Δerm and in epidemic R20291 C. difficile strains. The new method expands the arsenal of the currently limiting set of gene engineering tools available for investigation of C. difficile and may serve as the basis for new strategies to control C. difficile infections.Importance Clostridium difficile represents today a real danger for human and animal health. It is the leading cause of diarrhoea associated with healthcare in adults in industrialized countries. The incidence of these infect...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Appl Environ Microbiol Source Type: research