Query: NC_005125:2811986 Gloeobacter violaceus PCC 7421, complete genome Lineage: Gloeobacter violaceus; Gloeobacter; ; Gloeobacterales; Cyanobacteria; Bacteria General Information: This organism was isolated from a calcereous (chalky) rock in Switzerland. Photosynthetic bacterium. This organism is an obligate photoautotroph that lacks thylakoid membranes and probably has its photosynthetic machinery in the cytoplasmic membrane with various components exposed to the periplasm whereas in other cyanobacteria the components are situated in the thylakoid membrane and are exposed to the cytoplasm. This unusual arrangement may be due to the lack of various fatty acids that are found in the thylakoid membrane in other cyanobacteria. It has been predicted that this organism was one of the earliest to diverge from the cyanobacterial line.
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General Information: This strain was probably isolated from salmon eggs associated with a foodborne case of botulism in Alaska, however the exact details are not available. This genus comprises about 150 metabolically diverse species of anaerobes that are ubiquitous in virtually all anoxic habitats where organic compounds are present, including soils, aquatic sediments and the intestinal tracts of animals and humans. This shape is attributed to the presence of endospores that develop under conditions unfavorable for vegetative growth and distend single cells terminally or sub-terminally. Spores germinate under conditions favorable for vegetative growth, such as anaerobiosis and presence of organic substrates. It is believed that present day Mollicutes (Eubacteria) have evolved regressively (i.e., by genome reduction) from gram-positive clostridia-like ancestors with a low GC content in DNA. 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.