Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTP

Query: NC_017297:33519 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.

Subject: NC_012881:3727150 Desulfovibrio salexigens DSM 2638, complete genome

Lineage: Desulfovibrio salexigens; Desulfovibrio; Desulfovibrionaceae; Desulfovibrionales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: Isolation: mud in British Guyana; Temp: Mesophile; Temp: 37 C; Habitat: Mud. Desulfovibrio are sulfate-reducing bacteria which reduce sulfate to sulfide found in soil, freshwater, saltwater and the intestinal tract of animals. These organisms typically grow anaerobically, although some can tolerate oxygen, and they utilize a wide variety of electron acceptors, including sulfate, sulfur, nitrate, and nitrite, as well as others. A number of toxic metals are reduced, including uranium (VI), chromium (VI) and iron (III), making these organisms of interest as bioremediators. These organisms are responsible for the production of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas in marine sediments and in terrestrial environments such as drilling sites for petroleum products.