pCP13, a representative of a new family of conjugative toxin plasmids in Clostridium perfringens

Plasmid
Thomas D WattsVicki Adams

Abstract

Conjugative transfer is a major contributor to the dissemination of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes in the human and animal pathogen, Clostridium perfringens. The C. perfringens plasmid pCW3 is the archetype of an extensive family of highly related conjugative toxin and antibiotic resistance plasmids found in this bacterium. These plasmids were thought to constitute the only conjugative plasmid family in C. perfringens. Recently, another series of C. perfringens plasmids, the pCP13-like family, have been shown to harbour important toxin genes, including genes that encode the novel binary clostridial enterotoxin, BEC. Based on early bioinformatics analysis this plasmid family was thought to be non-conjugative. Here we demonstrate that pCP13 is in fact conjugative, transfers at high frequency and that the newly defined Pcp conjugation locus encodes putative homologues of a type 4 secretion system (T4SS), one of which, PcpB4, was shown to be essential for transfer. The T4SS of pCP13 also appears to be evolutionarily related to conjugative toxin plasmids from other clostridia-like species, including Paeniclostridium (formerly Clostridium) sordellii, Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium) difficile and Clostridium botulinum...Continue Reading

Citations

Feb 23, 2020·Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation : Official Publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·Iman Mehdizadeh GohariJohn F Prescott
Jun 12, 2020·Plasmid·Sarah A Revitt-MillsJulian I Rood
Apr 13, 2021·Virulence·Iman Mehdizadeh GohariBruce A McClane

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