Carriage of three plasmids in a single human clinical isolate of Clostridioides difficile

Abstract

A subset of clinical isolates of Clostridioides difficile contains one or more plasmids and these plasmids can harbor virulence and antimicrobial resistance determinants. Despite their potential importance, C. difficile plasmids remain poorly characterized. Here, we provide the complete genome sequence of a human clinical isolate that carries three high-copy number plasmids from three different plasmid families that are therefore compatible. For two of these, we identify a region capable of sustaining plasmid replication in C. difficile that is also compatible with the plasmid pCD630 that is found in many laboratory strains. Together, our data advance our understanding of C. difficile plasmid biology.

Keywords: C. difficile; C. difficile plasmids; Complete genome sequence; Extrachromosomal DNA; Plasmid carriage; Plasmid compatibility.