New Botulinum Toxin (eBoNT/J) discovered in Enterococcus

What is it about?

The botulinum neurotoxin is the most potent toxin known. This Research describes the discovery and characterisation of a novel botulinum-like neurotoxin gene cluster from a species of Enterococcus which was isolated from cow faeces.

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Why is it important?

Its significance lies in the fact that this is the first complete neurotoxin gene cluster to be found in a non-clostridial genome. Features suggest a novel target cell binding site, we anticipate that this new toxin may possess novel properties that may be of use to the pharmaceutical industry.