EMS Mutagenesis of Clostridium difficile to Identify Strains with Germination-null Phenotypes

Abstract

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive, spore-forming, strict anaerobe and the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (McFarland, 2008). Germination by C. difficile spores is the first step in pathogenesis. Thus, identifying mechanisms of C. difficile spore germination may lead to novel anti-germination therapies. This protocol describes a method for identifying germination-null phenotypes for C. difficile spores by introducing random mutations into actively growing C. difficile using ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) as a mutagen (Francis et al., 2013).