Abstract
Author summary Corynebacterium diphtheriae causes both toxin-mediated diphtheria and non-toxigenic invasive infections. Despite a vaccine to protect against diphtheria, case numbers for both invasive and diphtherial disease have increased over the last decade. Furthermore, an increase in antibiotic resistant strains are being isolated from patients. It’s clear that additional treatment strategies for this organism will be needed in the future. Using high-throughput mutagenesis, this work presents the densest library of mutants for any Corynebacterium sp.. This work identifies the essential genome of C. diphtheriae; an important classification as these genes are often the target of therapeutic intervention. We identify highly conserved genes and species-specific genes unique to pathogens. This data presents an important benchmark and focus for the future development of therapeutic options. Of particular significance is the identification of uncharacterized, conserved proteins within the Diphtheria vaccine.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e1010737 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-29 |
Number of pages | 29 |
Journal | PLoS Genetics |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 26 Apr 2023 |