Clostridium botulinum strains producing BoNT/F4 or BoNT/F5

Appl Environ Microbiol. 2014 May;80(10):3250-7. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00284-14. Epub 2014 Mar 14.

Abstract

Botulinum neurotoxin type F (BoNT/F) may be produced by Clostridium botulinum alone or in combination with another toxin type such as BoNT/A or BoNT/B. Type F neurotoxin gene sequences have been further classified into seven toxin subtypes. Recently, the genome sequence of one strain of C. botulinum (Af84) was shown to contain three neurotoxin genes (bont/F4, bont/F5, and bont/A2). In this study, eight strains containing bont/F4 and seven strains containing bont/F5 were examined. Culture supernatants produced by these strains were incubated with BoNT/F-specific peptide substrates. Cleavage products of these peptides were subjected to mass spectral analysis, allowing detection of the BoNT/F subtypes present in the culture supernatants. PCR analysis demonstrated that a plasmid-specific marker (PL-6) was observed only among strains containing bont/F5. Among these strains, Southern hybridization revealed the presence of an approximately 242-kb plasmid harboring bont/F5. Genome sequencing of four of these strains revealed that the genomic backgrounds of strains harboring either bont/F4 or bont/F5 are diverse. None of the strains analyzed in this study were shown to produce BoNT/F4 and BoNT/F5 simultaneously, suggesting that strain Af84 is unusual. Finally, these data support a role for the mobility of a bont/F5-carrying plasmid among strains of diverse genomic backgrounds.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Botulinum Toxins / biosynthesis*
  • Botulinum Toxins / chemistry
  • Botulinum Toxins / genetics
  • Clostridium botulinum / classification
  • Clostridium botulinum / genetics
  • Clostridium botulinum / metabolism*
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny
  • Plasmids / genetics
  • Plasmids / metabolism

Substances

  • Botulinum Toxins
  • botulinum toxin type F

Associated data

  • GEO/GSE53456