Time-resolved transcriptome analysis of Clostridium difficile R20291 response to cysteine

The incidence of Clostridium difficile infection has been steadily rising over the past decade. The increase in the rate of incidence is associated with the specific NAP1/BI/027 strains which are “hypervirulent” and have led to several large outbreaks since their emergence. However, the relation between these outbreaks and virulence regulation mechanisms remains unclear. It has been reported that the major virulence factor TcdA and TcdB in C. difficile could be repressed by cysteine. Here, we investigated the functional and virulence-associated regulation of C. difficile R20291 response to cysteine by using a time-resolved genome-wide transcriptome analysis. Dramatic changes of gene expression in C. difficile revealed functional processes related to transport, metabolism, and regulators in the presence of cysteine during different phases of growth. Flagellar and ribosomal genes were significantly down-regulated in long-term response to cysteine. Many NAP1/BI/027- specific genes were also modulated by cysteine. In addition, cdsB inactivation in C. difficile R20291 could remove the repression of toxin synthesis but could not remove the repression of butyrate production in the presence of cysteine. This suggests that toxin synthesis and butyrate production might have different regulatory controls in response to cysteine. Altogether, our research provides important insights into the regulatory mechanisms of C. difficile response to cysteine.