TCS in Clostriodioides difficile
The genome of the hypervirulent strain of Clostridioides difficile (Cd) R20291 encodes 54 HKs and 57 RR proteins comprising TCS pathways that allow the organism to sense and respond (adapt) to environmental changes. The West group embarked on the study of select TCS proteins that play essential roles in antibiotic resistance, spore formation, and virulence in the obligate anaerobe Cd, as part of a collaborative project funded by the Price Family Foundation. Our current projects involve in vivo knockout studies in Cd and in vitro characterization of recently identified TCS proteins implicated in sporulation in Cd. Spores are known to be the major cause of disease transmission to new hosts and are the main source of disease recurrence in patients with C. difficile infections (CDIs).