title: The genome of Clostridium difficile 5.3.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clostridium difficile is the leading cause of infectious diarrhea in humans and responsible for large outbreaks of enteritis in neonatal pigs in both North America and Europe. Disease caused by C. difficile typically occurs during antibiotic therapy and its emergence over the past 40 years is linked with the widespread use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in both human and veterinary medicine.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We sequenced the genome of Clostridium difficile 5.3 using the Illumina Nextera XT and MiSeq technologies. Assembly of the sequence data reconstructed a 4,009,318 bp genome in 27 scaffolds with an N50 of 786 kbp. The genome has extensive similarity to other sequenced C. difficile genomes, but also has several genes that are potentially related to virulence and pathogenicity that are not present in the reference C. difficile strain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Genome sequencing of human and animal isolates is needed to understand the molecular events driving the emergence of C. difficile as a gastrointestinal pathogen of humans and food animals and to better define its zoonotic potential.
authors.affiliation: ithree institute, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway Street, 2007 Ultimo, Australia. aaron.darling@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: Aaron E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Darling
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Worden
authors.forename: Toni A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: Piklu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roy Chowdhury
authors.forename: Ian G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.forename: Steven P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Djordjevic