# Metabolic adaptation drives pathogenicity of C. difficile epidemic strain RT078

> **NIH NIH F32** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2020 · $72,006

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of antibiotic associated diarrhea and has become one of the
most frequent hospital acquired infections in the US and Europe. In the early 2000’s, there was a world-wide
outbreak of Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) with increased disease severity. RT078 strains emerged as
epidemic strains in 2003 and are among the most commonly isolated strains in hospitals. Several studies have
characterized RTo78 strains, along with RT027, as among the most prevalent ribotypes of C. difficile during
recent outbreaks; however, the reason for increased prevalence and disease severity remains poorly
understood. Interestingly RT078 are the most abundant ribotype found in livestock and contain a novel 4 gene
metabolic operon that we hypothesize promotes zoonotic transfer. This proposal seeks to investigate diet as an
important factor that enables zoonotic transfer of C. difficile from animals to humans. The overall objectives of
this proposal are to assess the impact of metabolism of polysaccharides recently added to the human diet on
the competitive fitness and disease severity of clinically isolated RT078 strains and to understand why this
ribotype is so dominant in farm animals around the world. Understanding how clinically significant C.
difficile lineages have utilized changes in dietary nutrient sources and how these adaptations impacts the
transmission of these strains may inform hospitals on dietary guidelines for patients during CDI outbreaks.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10001962
- **Project number:** 5F32AI136404-02
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Heather A. Danhof
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $72,006
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10001962

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10001962, Metabolic adaptation drives pathogenicity of C. difficile epidemic strain RT078 (5F32AI136404-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10001962. Licensed CC0.

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