Query: NC_004369:2968251 Corynebacterium efficiens YS-314, complete genome Lineage: Corynebacterium efficiens; Corynebacterium; Corynebacteriaceae; Actinomycetales; Actinobacteria; Bacteria General Information: This is the type strain of C. efficiens isolated by researchers of Ajinomoto food company from soils at Kanagawa, Japan in the late 1980's. The strain can grow and produce glutamate at temperatures above up to 45oC in contrast to C. glutamicum that is only efficient at around 30oC. This feature is very beneficial for industrial applications, because less heat removal is required in fermenters to be used for cultivation of these bacteria. Glutamate-producing bacterium. They may be found as members of the normal microflora of humans, where these bacteria find a suitable niche in virtually every anatomic site. This organism is a recently proposed new species of the genus capable of producing significant quantities of glutamic acid (glutamate), an important enhancer of taste in the food industry. It is currently used commercially to produce glutamate and other amino acids and compounds.
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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.