A short chain fatty acid–centric view of Clostridioides difficile pathogenesis
Fig 2
Overview of C. difficile metabolism with a focus on SCFA synthesis.
Glycolysis, Stickland fermentation, TCA cycle, Wood–Ljungdahl pathway, and SCFA synthesis are underlined and presented in a simplified version for clarity; adapted from [77]. Selected precursors, intermediates, and end products of these pathways are labeled with the major precursors and intermediates relevant for SCFA-centric metabolism in C. difficile. Pathways resulting in net generation of NADH (red), NAD (blue), or ATP (green) are indicated. SCFA, short chain fatty acid; TCA, tricarboxylic acid.