Analyzing the phenotypic characteristics of environmental C. difficile isolates
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is an anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium. Antibiotic use, hospitalization, advanced age, a compromised immune system, and previous infection puts individuals at an increased risk for C. difficile infection (CDI). C. difficile is one of the most common causes of hospital-acquired antibiotic associated diarrhea and there are both toxigenic and non-toxigenic C. difficile strains. Previously our lab isolated multiple C. difficile strains from several wastewater treatment plants in Taiwan. Ribotyping and antibiotic resistance profiling were performed for all 97 individual isolates. In total, 24 different ribotypes were represented. In this study, we wish to investigate the phenotypic characteristics of these isolates in order to determine if there are any differences between the different ribotypes. Colony morphology revealed wide diversity among the isolates tested. We also characterized the ability of these isolates to exhibit swimming motility and gliding motility. Lastly, we will analyze the spore forming abilities of these C. difficile isolates. The results generated from this project will provide for the first time a comprehensive characterization of water-borne C. difficile in Taiwan.
Citation
Moulis, G., & Huang, I-H. (2022, February 18). Analyzing the phenotypic characteristics of environmental C. difficile isolates. Poster presented at Research Days at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, Ok.
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- Research Week 2022 [58]