Prevalence and genomic characteristics of becAB-carrying Clostridium perfringens strains

Mingjin Fang, Yuan Yuan, Edward M. Fox, Ke Wu, Xin Tian, Likun Zhang, Hang Feng, Ruichao Li, Li Bai, Xinglong Wang, Zengqi Yang*, Rong Zhang, Juan Wang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Clostridium perfringens, as a foodborne pathogen, can cause various intestinal diseases in both humans and animals according to its repertoire of toxins. In recent years, a multitude of studies have highlighted its threat to infants and young children. C. perfringens carries numerous toxins, with the newly identified BEC toxin confirmed as the second toxin to cause diarrheal illness, after CPE. However, the global dissemination of C. perfringens strains carrying becAB genes, which encode BEC toxins, has not been extensively studied. Following epidemiological surveillance of the prevalence of C. perfringens from different sources in various provinces of China, we identified two becAB-carrying strains and one strain carrying a sequence similar to becAB from distinct provinces and sources. When combined with genomic analysis of other becAB-carrying C. perfringens strains from public databases, we found that becAB was present in strains from different lineages. Our analysis of the plasmid and genetic environment corroborates previous findings on becAB-carrying strains, confirming that it currently achieves horizontal transmission through one type of evolutionarily conserved Pcp plasmid. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the prevalence and transmission patterns of the newly emerged toxin gene locus, becAB, in C. perfringens. Despite the relatively low identification rate of becAB-carrying strains, their potential impact requires ongoing surveillance and investigation of their features, particularly their antimicrobial resistance.
Original languageEnglish
Article number104640
Number of pages10
JournalFood Microbiology
Volume125
Early online date7 Sept 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 7 Sept 2024

Keywords

  • Clostridium perfringens
  • becAB
  • Plasmid
  • Horizontal gene transfer
  • Public health
  • Genome

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