Query: NC_017297:1 Clostridium botulinum F str. 230613 chromosome, complete genome Lineage: Clostridium botulinum; Clostridium; Clostridiaceae; Clostridiales; Firmicutes; Bacteria 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.
- Sequence; - BLASTN hit (Low score = Light, High score = Dark) - hypothetical protein; - cds: hover for description
General Information: Bacteria belonging to the Pseudomonas group are common inhabitants of soil and water and can also be found on the surfaces of plants and animals. Pseudomonas bacteria are found in nature in a biofilm or in planktonic form. Pseudomonas bacteria are renowned for their metabolic versatility as they can grow under a variety of growth conditions and do not need any organic growth factors. This organism is an opportunistic human pathogen. While it rarely infects healthy individuals, immunocompromised patients, like burn victims, AIDS-, cancer- or cystic fibrosis-patients are at increased risk for infection with this environmentally versatile bacteria. It is an important soil bacterium with a complex metabolism capable of degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and producing interesting, biologically active secondary metabolites including quinolones, rhamnolipids, lectins, hydrogen cyanide, and phenazines. Production of these products is likely controlled by complex regulatory networks making Pseudomonas aeruginosa adaptable both to free-living and pathogenic lifestyles. The bacterium is naturally resistant to many antibiotics and disinfectants, which makes it a difficult pathogen to treat.