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Review
. 2016 Jul 5;8(7):207.
doi: 10.3390/toxins8070207.

Regulation of Toxin Production in Clostridium perfringens

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Review

Regulation of Toxin Production in Clostridium perfringens

Kaori Ohtani et al. Toxins (Basel). .

Abstract

The Gram-positive anaerobic bacterium Clostridium perfringens is widely distributed in nature, especially in soil and the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and animals. C. perfringens causes gas gangrene and food poisoning, and it produces extracellular enzymes and toxins that are thought to act synergistically and contribute to its pathogenesis. A complicated regulatory network of toxin genes has been reported that includes a two-component system for regulatory RNA and cell-cell communication. It is necessary to clarify the global regulatory system of these genes in order to understand and treat the virulence of C. perfringens. We summarize the existing knowledge about the regulatory mechanisms here.

Keywords: C. perfringens; regulatory network.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The regulatory networks of C. perfringens type A strain 13. VirS/VirR-VR-RNA cascade regulates total of 147 genes including toxin genes. The response regulator RevR and sensor histidine kinase ReeS also regulate several toxin genes. These two-component regulatory systems develop a complex toxin gene regulatory network. +: positive regulation, −: negative regulation.

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