Clostridioides difficile is an enteric pathogen with critical implications for public health. The microbial ecosystem in which C. difficile resides shapes the behavior and fitness of C. difficile; however, the mechanisms underlying these interactions are not well defined. Here, we demonstrate that Enterococcus faecalis, an opportunistic pathogen known to co-colonize the gut with C. difficile, influences phase variation and downstream growth phenotypes in C. difficile. This phenomenon represents a new paradigm by which co-residing bacteria can modulate phase variation dynamics in C. difficile or other enteric pathogens. Understanding factors that influence C. difficile behavior may elucidate new therapeutic strategies, especially in complex polymicrobial infections.

YouTube video by KeystoneSymposia

Honoring Sarah James & Supporting Her Children’s Future On Christmas, our com… Joe James needs your support for Honoring Sarah James Through Education

The plan, which is not finalized, suggests children get fewer shots and shifts to a model telling parents to consult doctors to make their own vaccine choices.

Developing effective accessible vaccines to end tuberculosis worldwide. Combining immunoengineering, molecular microbiology & systems biology at MIT.

SUMMARYEnterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are human pathobionts that exhibit a dual lifestyle as commensal and pathogenic bacteria. The pathogenic lifestyle is associated with specific conditions involving host susceptibility and intestinal ...

The 2025 ISB Microbiome Symposium was a virtual scientific event hosted by the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) on December 12, 2025. The symposium brough...

Chronic wound infection represents a major global public health concern, impacting both healthcare costs and patient quality of life (1, 2). Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive opportunistic path...

PhD Project - Multi-omic surveillance of microbial dynamics in river and flood-impacted environments: implications for public health in a changing climate at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAP...

Twelve former commissioners of the FDA express concern that the agency’s recent moves will undermine a regulatory model designed to ensure vaccine safety, effectiveness, and availability.

A federal vaccine advisory committee this week is expected to discuss whether newborns should still get the hepatitis B vaccine — the first shot found to prevent cancer.

Twelve former commissioners of the FDA express concern that the agency’s recent moves will undermine a regulatory model designed to ensure vaccine safety, effectiveness, and availability.

Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection, May 2026, in Breckenridge, with field leaders!

Enterococci, particularly E. faecalis , can survive in diverse settings within and outside human hosts. The capacity of E. faecalis to colonize these locations relies on its ability to adapt by alteri...