title: Identification of structural genes for Clostridium botulinum type C neurotoxin-converting phage particles.
abstract: The structural genes for strain C-Stockholm (c-st) phage particles, a representative type C toxin-converting phage of Clostridium botulinum, have been determined. First, by determining the N-terminal amino acid sequences of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) bands of c-st phage particles, it became clear that four proteins, 14, 25, 32 and 42 kDa, are the products of the ORFs, cst166, cst165, cst160 and cst164, respectively, of the c-st phage genome. The Western blot analyses reacting these phage bands with an antiphage serum prepared previously indicated that the products of cst165 and cst160 are the main proteins of the phage particles. Then, six candidates for the phage structural proteins, including cst165 and cst160 gene products, were prepared as recombinant proteins. Also, the protein corresponding to the cst164 gene product was excised from SDS-PAGE gels. The antibodies against these seven proteins were prepared in rabbits, and finally, the reaction of these antibodies to the c-st phage particles was analyzed by electron microscopy. It was concluded that a sheath protein and a head protein of the c-st phage are the products of genes cst160 and cst165, respectively, and that these two proteins are conserved in the other three converting phages, but not in the nonconverting phage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hyun-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Jae-Chul
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Mahfuzur R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sarker
authors.forename: Tomofusa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuchiya
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oguma
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001905:Botulinum Toxins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003014:Clostridium botulinum / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D015246:Deoxyribonuclease EcoRI / Q000378:metabolism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; D015246:Deoxyribonuclease EcoRI; D001905:Botulinum Toxins