期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2005
卷号：102
期号：48
页码：17472-17477
DOI：10.1073/pnas.0505503102
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTXs) produced by Clostridium botulinum are among the most poisonous substances known. Of the seven types of BoNTXs, genes for type C1 and D toxins (BoNTX/C1 and D) are carried by bacteriophages. The gene for exoenzyme C3 also resides on these phages. Here, we present the complete genome sequence of c-st, a representative of BoNTX/C1-converting phages. The genome is a linear double-stranded DNA of 185,682 bp with 404-bp terminal direct repeats, the largest known temperate phage genome. We identified 198 potential protein-coding regions, including the genes for production of BoNTX/C1 and exoenzyme C3. Very exceptionally, as a viable bacteriophage, a number of insertion sequences were found on the c-st genome. By analyzing the molecular structure of the c-st genome in lysogens, we also found that it exists as a circular plasmid prophage. These features account for the unstable lysogeny of BoNTX phages, which has historically been called "pseudolysogeny." The PCR scanning analysis of other BoNTX/C1 and D phages based on the c-st sequence further revealed that BoNTX phages comprise a divergent phage family, probably generated by exchanging genomic segments among BoNTX phages and their relatives.
