Query: NC_007406:632436 Nitrobacter winogradskyi Nb-255, complete genome Lineage: Nitrobacter winogradskyi; Nitrobacter; Bradyrhizobiaceae; Rhizobiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria General Information: Nitrite-oxidizing bacterium. Members of this genus are found in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats, often in association with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. These organisms oxidize nitrate, generated by the oxidation of ammonia, to nitrate and play an important role in the global nitrogen cycle. The enzyme involved in nitrite oxidation, nitrite oxidoreductase, can also reduce nitrate to nitrite in the absence of oxygen, allowing Nitrobacter sp. to grow anaerobically. Nitrobacter winogradskyi is commonly isolated from soil, fresh and sea water, sewage, and compost. This organism can grow anaerobically using nitrate as the electron acceptor, forming nitrite, nitric oxide, and nitrous oxide.
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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.