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Background  Although useful for probing bacterial pathogenesis and physiology, current random mutagenesis systems suffer limitations for studying the toxin-producing bacterium  Clostridium perfringens .    Methodology/Principal Findings  An EZ-Tn 5 -based random mutagenesis approach was developed for use in  C. perfringens . This mutagenesis system identified a new regulatory locus controlling toxin production by strain 13, a  C. perfringens  type A strain. The novel locus, encoding proteins with homology to the AgrB and AgrD components of the Agr quorum sensing system of  Staphylococcus aureus  and two hypothetical proteins, was found to regulate early production of both alpha toxin and perfringolysin O (PFO) by strain 13. PFO production by the strain 13 Δ agr B mutant could be restored by genetic complementation or by physical complementation, i.e. by co-culture of the strain 13 Δ agr B mutant with a  pfo A mutant of either strain 13 or  C. perfringens  type C CN3685. A similar AgrB- and AgrD-encoding locus is identifiable in all sequenced  C. perfringens  strains, including type B, C, D, and E isolates, suggesting this regulatory locus contributes to toxin regulation by most  C. perfringens  strains. In strain 13, the  agrB  and  agrD  genes were found to be co-transcribed in an operon with two upstream genes encoding hypothetical proteins.    Conclusions/Significance  The new Tn 5 -based random mutagenesis system developed in this study is more efficient and random than previously reported  C. perfringens  random mutagenesis approaches. It allowed identification of a novel  C. perfringens  toxin regulatory locus with homology to the Agr system of  S. aureus  and which functions as expected of an Agr-like quorum sensing system. Since previous studies have shown that alpha toxin and perfringolysin O are responsible for strain 13-induced clostridial myonecrosis in the mouse model, the new  agr  regulatory locus may have importance for strain 13 virulence.

Use of an EZ-Tn5-Based Random Mutagenesis System to Identify a Novel Toxin Regulatory Locus in Clostridium perfringens Strain 13