Researchers Discover Amino Acid That Inhibits Illness-Causing Sporulation of Clostridium perfringens
Image credit: CDC via Unsplash
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have discovered the ability of an amino acid to inhibit Clostridium perfringens spore formation in the human gut.
C. perfringens can cause illness after contaminated food is ingested and spores are formed in the intestinal tract. The toxins produced during sporulation lead to gastrointestinal effects like diarrhea and abdominal pain, although the underlying mechanisms of spore formation are not fully understood.
To better understand how amino acids affect C. perfringens sporulation, Mayo Yasugi, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Veterinary Science, led a study in which the pathogen was cultured and then deprived of different amino acids. A total of 20 culture mediums were deprived of different amino acids that make up proteins in the human body. The cultures were observed against a control for bacterial growth and pathogen development of morphological characteristics.
Several amino acids were found to be important for sporulation. Importantly, the amino acid serine reduced sporulation and inhibited the cell walls of C. perfringens from remodeling, which is necessary in the spore formation process.
The study is the first instance in which a single amino acid has been shown to inhibit spore-forming anaerobic bacteria. Dr. Yasugi hopes that this finding will inspire further research into serine inhibition, the pathogenic mechanisms food poisoning caused by C. perfringens, and the survival strategies of pathogenic microorganisms in the human body.
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