Query: NC_008710:488815 Borrelia turicatae 91E135, complete genome Lineage: Borrelia turicatae; Borrelia; Spirochaetaceae; Spirochaetales; Spirochaetes; Bacteria General Information: This strain was isolated in the USA from the soft tick Ornithodoros turicatae. Borrelia turicatae is the causative agent of tick-borne relapsing fever in the southwestern USA. Ticks become infected with Borrelia while feeding on an infected mammal, usually a rodent or squirrel. Borrelia then multiplies rapidly, causing a generalized infection throughout the tick. While feeding, the tick passes the spirochete into a mammalian host through its infectious saliva. Relapsing fever is characterized by period of chills, fever, headache, and malaise, followed by an asymptomatic, followed by another episode of symptoms. The cycle of relapsing is due to changes in the surface proteins of Borrelia, which allow it to avoid detection and removal by the host immune system. This antigenic variation is the result of homologous recombination of silent proteins into an expressed locus, causing partial or complete replacement of one serotype with another. These plasmids carry genes involved in antigenic variation and pathogenicity.
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General Information: Clostridium botulinum B str. Eklund 17B is a nonproteolytic botulism neurotoxin B strain. This strain was isolated from marine sediments taken off the coast of Washington, USA and was not associated with botulism. 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.