Tetanus disease is one of the most dramatic and globally prevalent diseases of humans and vertebrate animals, and has been reported for over 24 centuries. The manifestation of the disease, spastic paralysis, is caused by the second most poisonous substance known, the tetanus toxin, with a human lethal dose of ≈1 ng/kg. Fortunately, this disease is successfully controlled through immunization with tetanus toxoid; nevertheless, according to the World Health Organization, an estimated 400,000 cases still occur each year, mainly of neonatal tetanus. The causative agent of tetanus disease is Clostridium tetani, an anaerobic spore-forming bacterium, whose natural habitat is soil, dust, and intestinal tracts of various animals. Here we report the complete genome sequence of toxigenic C. tetani E88, a variant of strain Massachusetts. The genome consists of a 2,799,250-bp chromosome encoding 2,372 ORFs. The tetanus toxin and a collagenase are encoded on a 74,082-bp plasmid, containing 61 ORFs. Additional virulence-related factors could be identified, such as an array of surface-layer and adhesion proteins (35 ORFs), some of them unique to C. tetani. Comparative genomics with the genomes of Clostridium perfringens, the causative agent of gas gangrene, and Clostridium acetobutylicum, a nonpathogenic solvent producer, revealed a remarkable capacity of C. tetani: The organism can rely on an extensive sodium ion bioenergetics. Additional candidate genes involved in the establishment and maintenance of a pathogenic lifestyle of C. tetani are presented.
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机译:破伤风疾病是人类和脊椎动物中最引人注目和全球性流行的疾病之一,已有24个多世纪的报道。该疾病的表现为痉挛性麻痹,是由已知的第二大毒性物质-破伤风毒素引起的,人类致死剂量约为1 ng / kg。幸运的是,通过用破伤风类毒素进行免疫可以成功控制这种疾病。但是,根据世界卫生组织的估计,每年仍然有40万病例发生,主要是新生儿破伤风。破伤风病的病原体是破伤风梭菌(Clostridium tetani),一种厌氧孢子形成细菌,其自然栖息地是土壤,尘土和各种动物的肠道。在这里,我们报告了产毒的破伤风线虫E88(马萨诸塞州毒株)的完整基因组序列。该基因组由一个2,799,250 bp的染色体组成,编码2,372个ORF。破伤风毒素和胶原酶编码在74,082-bp的质粒上,含有61个ORF。可以确定其他与毒力相关的因素,例如一系列表面层和粘附蛋白(35个ORF),其中一些是破伤风梭菌特有的。气体坏疽的病原体产气荚膜梭状芽胞杆菌和非致病性溶剂生产者丙酮丁醇梭菌的基因组的比较基因组学表明,破伤风梭菌具有非凡的能力:该生物可以依赖广泛的钠离子生物能。提出了参与破伤风梭菌的致病性生活方式的建立和维持的其他候选基因。
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