Project description:Clostridium perfringens type A is a common source of food poisoning in humans. Vegetative cells sporulate in the small intestinal tract and produce a major pathogenic factor, C. perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) during sporulation. Although sporulation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of food poisoning, the mechanisms to induce in vivo sporulation remain unclear. Bile salts had been identified to mediate sporulation, and we have confirmed deoxycholate (DCA)-induced sporulation in C. perfringens strain NCTC8239 co-cultured with human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells. In this study, we performed global transcriptome analysis of strain NCTC8239 to elucidate the mechanism to induce sporulation by DCA.