Human colon cancer-derived Clostridioides difficile strains drive colonic tumorigenesis in mice. Mouse gut microbiota

In this study, we identified a microbial slurry, derived from biofilm-positive (BF+) tumor mucosa of a CRC patient, that induced distal colonic tumors when gavaged into germ-free ApcMin/+ mice. Extensive culturing of this pro-tumorigenic slurry (3728T) elicited a 30-isolate community that recapitulated tumorigenesis of the original complex slurry. The tumorigenic phenotype of this bacterial consortium was driven by a toxigenic strain of Clostridioides difficile.