Clostridium difficile, now reclassified as Clostridioides difficile, is the causative agent of C. difficile infections (CDI). CDI is particularly challenging in healthcare settings because highly resistant spores of the bacterium can persist in the environment, making it difficult to curb outbreaks. Dysbiosis of the microbiota caused by the use of antibiotics is the primary factor that allows C. difficile to colonize the gut and cause diarrhea and colitis. For this reason, antibiotics targeting C. difficile can be ineffective at preventing recurrent episodes because they exacerbate and prolong dysbiosis. The emergence of antibiotic resistance in C. difficile also presents a significant threat. The diverse array of bacteriophages (phages) that infect C. difficile could offer new treatment strategies and greater insight into the biology of the pathogen. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding C. difficile phages and discuss what is understood about their lifestyles and genomics. Then, we examine how phage infection modifies bacterial gene expression and pathogenicity. Finally, we discuss the potential clinical applications of C. difficile phages such as whole phage therapy and phage-derived products, and we highlight the most promising strategies for further development.

中文翻译：

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艰难梭菌噬菌体生物学及应用。

艰难梭菌，现在重新归类为艰难梭菌，是艰难梭菌感染 (CDI) 的病原体。CDI 在医疗保健环境中尤其具有挑战性，因为细菌的高度耐药性孢子可以在环境中持续存在，因此难以遏制爆发。使用抗生素引起的微生物群失调是艰难梭菌在肠道定植并引起腹泻和结肠炎的主要因素。出于这个原因，针对艰难梭菌的抗生素可能无法有效预防复发，因为它们会加剧和延长菌群失调。艰难梭菌抗生素耐药性的出现也构成了重大威胁。感染 C. 艰难梭菌可以提供新的治疗策略和对病原体生物学的更深入了解。在这篇综述中，我们总结了有关艰难梭菌噬菌体的当前知识，并讨论了对其生活方式和基因组学的了解。然后，我们检查噬菌体感染如何改变细菌基因表达和致病性。最后，我们讨论了艰难梭菌噬菌体的潜在临床应用，例如全噬菌体疗法和噬菌体衍生产品，并强调了最有希望的进一步发展策略。