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Effect of phage infection on toxin production by Clostridium difficile

Shan Goh¹, Barbara J Chang¹ and Thomas V Riley^1,2

Microbiology, School of Biomedical & Chemical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre¹, and Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, The Western Australian Centre for Pathology and Medical Research², Nedlands, Australia 6009

Correspondence Thomas V. Riley triley{at}cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Received July 13, 2004
Accepted September 9, 2004

Infection with Clostridium difficile and subsequent production of toxins A and B may result in C. difficile-associated diarrhoea and pseudomembranous colitis in hospital patients. The effect of four temperate phages, obtained by induction of clinical C. difficile isolates, on toxin production by C. difficile was determined. None of these phages converted a lysogenized non-toxigenic C. difficile strain to toxin production. One of the accessory toxin genes, tcdE, was detected in three phages, C2, C6 and C8; however, the non-repeating regions of tcdA and tcdB encoding the enzymic domains were not carried on phage DNA. Phage infection of toxigenic strains increased toxin B production in four of six lysogens, although the level of tcdB transcription as determined by real-time RT-PCR was not significantly altered. However, levels of toxin A transcription in two lysogens were significantly altered without any corresponding differences in toxin A production.

Present address: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, MD4 #05-08, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117597.

Abbreviation: PaLoc, pathogenicity locus.

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