Query: NC_011883:2031222 Desulfovibrio desulfuricans subsp. desulfuricans str. ATCC 27774, Lineage: Desulfovibrio desulfuricans; Desulfovibrio; Desulfovibrionaceae; Desulfovibrionales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria General Information: Desulfovibrio desulfuricans subsp. desulfuricans str. ATCC 27774 was isolated from the rumen of a sheep. D. desulfuricans reduces sulfate to sulfide found in soil, freshwater, saltwater and the intestinal tract of animals. This organism grows anaerobically and utilizes a wide variety of electron acceptors, including sulfate, sulfur, nitrate, and nitrite, as well as others. The nitrate reduction pathway is not expressed while sulfate is available. Alternatively, the sulfate reduction pathway is constitutively expressed when the cells are growing with nitrate reduction. A number of toxic metals are reduced, including uranium (VI), chromium (VI) and iron (III), making this organism of interest as bioremediator. Metal corrosion, a problem that is partly the result of the collective activity of this bacterium, results in billions of dollars in losses each year to the petroleum industry. This organism is responsible for the production of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas in marine sediments and in terrestrial environments such as drilling sites for petroleum products.
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General Information: This organism produces one of the most potent and deadly neurotoxins known, a botulinum toxin that prevents the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction, thereby inhibiting muscle contraction and causing paralysis. In most cases the diseased person dies of asphyxiation as a result of paralysis of chest muscles involved in breathing. The spores are heat-resistant and can survive in inadequately heated, prepared, or processed foods. Spores germinate under favorable conditions (anaerobiosis and substrate-rich environment) and bacteria start propagating very rapidly, producing the toxin.Botulinum toxin, and C. botulinum cells, has been found in a wide variety of foods, including canned ones. Almost any food that has a high pH (above 4.6) can support growth of the bacterium. Honey is the most common vehicle for infection in infants. Food poisoning through C. botulinum is the most frequent type of infection caused by this bacterium. The wound botulism that occurs when C. botulinum infects an individual via an open wound is much rarer and is very similar to tetanus disease. There are several types of botulinum toxin known (type A through type F), all of them being neurotoxic polypeptides. The most common and widely distributed are strains and serovars of C. botulinum that produce type A toxin.