Abstract
The commensal microbiome plays an important role in the dynamics of Clostridium difficile infection. In this chapter, we describe minibioreactor arrays (MBRAs), an in vitro cultivation system that we developed that allows for C. difficile physiology to be assayed in the presence of complex fecal microbial communities. The small size of the bioreactors within the MBRAs allows for dozens of reactors to be run simultaneously and therefore several different variables can be tested with limited time and cost. When coupled with experiments in animal models of C. difficile infection, MBRAs can provide important insights into C. difficile physiology and pathogenesis.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge Robert Stedtfeld for his work designing the MBRAs. This work was supported by award 5U19AI090872-02 from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to R.A.B.
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Auchtung, J.M., Robinson, C.D., Farrell, K., Britton, R.A. (2016). MiniBioReactor Arrays (MBRAs) as a Tool for Studying C. difficile Physiology in the Presence of a Complex Community. In: Roberts, A., Mullany, P. (eds) Clostridium difficile. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1476. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6361-4_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6361-4_18
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