Botulinal neurotoxin C1 complex genes, clostridial neurotoxin homology and genetic transfer in Clostridium botulinum.

The botulinal neurotoxins (BoNT) associate with non-toxic proteins (ANTP) by non-covalent bonds to form large complexes. In C. botulinum C, the BoNT/C1 locus consists of six genes which are organized in three clusters. Cluster 1 encompasses the genes of BoNT/C1 and ANTP/139 which could be involved in the resistance of the BoNT/C1 to the acidic pH and protease degradation. The second cluster consists of three genes which encode hemagglutinin components. The last gene encodes a DNA binding protein (Orf22) which might regulate the BoNT/C1 complex gene expression. BoNT and tetanus toxin (TeTx) display similar structure and mechanism of action at the molecular level. Their identity at the amino acid level range from 34 to 96.8%, indicating that the clostridial neurotoxin genes probably derive from a common ancestor. The fact that Clostridium other than C. botulinum such as C. butyricum and C. baratii can produce a BoNT suggests that the BoNT genes can be transferred between Clostridium strains. The toxigenic C. butyricum strains seem to derive from originally non-toxic strains by neurotoxin gene transfer from C. botulinum E, probably including a mobile DNA element. In C. botulinum C and D the gene encoding the exoenzyme C3 has been localized in a transposon-like element of 21.5 kbp. Transposons could be involved in BoNT gene transfer in C. botulinum.

[1]  N. Fujii,et al.  The complete nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the nontoxic component of Clostridium botulinum type E progenitor toxin. , 1993, Journal of general microbiology.

[2]  M. Collins,et al.  Nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for Clostridium botulinum (Clostridium argentinense) type G neurotoxin: genealogical comparison with other clostridial neurotoxins. , 1993, Biochimica et biophysica acta.

[3]  L. Simpson.  Botulinum neurotoxin and tetanus toxin , 1989 .

[4]  S. Cole,et al.  Studies of UV‐inducible promoters from Clostridium perfringens in vivo and in vitro , 1988, Molecular microbiology.

[5]  G D Schuler,et al.  A workbench for multiple alignment construction and analysis , 1991, Proteins.

[6]  B. Dasgupta,et al.  Clostridium botulinum types A, B, C1, and E produce proteins with or without hemagglutinating activity: Do they share common amino acid sequences and genes? , 1991, Journal of protein chemistry.

[7]  M. Strom,et al.  Evidence for plasmid-mediated toxin and bacteriocin production in Clostridium botulinum type G , 1988, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[8]  T. A. Roberts,et al.  Sequence of the gene encoding type F neurotoxin of Clostridium botulinum. , 1992, FEMS microbiology letters.

[9]  H. Kurazono,et al.  Nucleotide sequence of Clostridium botulinum C1 neurotoxin. , 1990, Nucleic acids research.

[10]  N. Fujii,et al.  Cloning and complete nucleotide sequence of the gene for the main component of hemagglutinin produced by Clostridium botulinum type C , 1990, Infection and immunity.

[11]  H. Sugiyama.  Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin. , 1980, Microbiological reviews.

[12]  P. Boquet,et al.  Comparative analysis of C3 and botulinal neurotoxin genes and their environment in Clostridium botulinum types C and D , 1993, Journal of bacteriology.

[13]  C. A. Smith,et al.  Bacteriophage and the Toxigenicity of Clostridium botulinum Type C , 1971, Science.

[14]  M. Eklund,et al.  CHAPTER 2 – Bacteriophages and Plasmids in Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium tetani and Their Relationship to Production of Toxins , 1989 .

[15]  Thomas C. Südhof,et al.  Botulinum neurotoxin A selectively cleaves the synaptic protein SNAP-25 , 1993, Nature.

[16]  M. Schmid,et al.  Direct visualization of botulinum neurotoxin-induced channels in phospholipid vesicles , 1993, Nature.

[17]  T. Atkinson,et al.  The complete amino acid sequence of the Clostridium botulinum type-E neurotoxin, derived by nucleotide-sequence analysis of the encoding gene. , 1990, European journal of biochemistry.

[18]  Huttner Wb.  Cell biology. Snappy exocytoxins. , 1993 .

[19]  H. Niemann,et al.  Sequences of the botulinal neurotoxin E derived from Clostridium botulinum type E (strain Beluga) and Clostridium butyricum (strains ATCC 43181 and ATCC 43755). , 1992, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.

[20]  K. Takeshi,et al.  Similarity in Nucleotide Sequence of the Gene Encoding Nontoxic Component of Botulinum Toxin Produced by Toxigenic Clostridium butyricum Strain BL6340 and Clostridium botulinum Type E Strain Mashike , 1993, Microbiology and immunology.

[21]  H. Kurazono,et al.  Nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin type D. , 1990, Nucleic acids research.

[22]  H. Kurazono,et al.  The complete sequence of botulinum neurotoxin type A and comparison with other clostridial neurotoxins. , 1990, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[23]  P. Boquet,et al.  Plasmid localization of a type E botulinal neurotoxin gene homologue in toxigenic Clostridium butyricum strains, and absence of this gene in non-toxigenic C. butyricum strains. , 1992, FEMS microbiology letters.

[24]  P. Boquet,et al.  Characterization of the C3 gene of Clostridium botulinum types C and D and its expression in Escherichia coli , 1991, Infection and immunity.

[25]  M. Collins,et al.  Nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for Clostridium barati type F neurotoxin: comparison with other clostridial neurotoxins. , 1993, FEMS microbiology letters.

[26]  J. Tomich,et al.  Identification of an ion channel‐forming motif in the primary structure of tetanus and botulinum neurotoxins , 1992, FEBS letters.

[27]  J. Alouf,et al.  Sourcebook of bacterial protein toxins , 1991 .

[28]  A. Henschen,et al.  Tetanus toxin: primary structure, expression in E. coli, and homology with botulinum toxins. , 1986, The EMBO journal.

[29]  F. Benfenati,et al.  Tetanus and botulinum-B neurotoxins block neurotransmitter release by proteolytic cleavage of synaptobrevin , 1992, Nature.

[30]  T. Atkinson,et al.  Molecular cloning of the Clostridium botulinum structural gene encoding the type B neurotoxin and determination of its entire nucleotide sequence , 1992, Applied and environmental microbiology.