This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gerwing, J. Articles by Ko, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gerwing, J. Articles by Ko, A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J Bacteriol. 1965 May; 89(5): 1176-1179
Copyright © 1965 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Mechanism of Tryptic Activation of Clostridium botulinum Type E Toxin

Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

ABSTRACT

GERWING, JULIA (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada), CLAUDE E. DOLMAN, AND ARTHUR KO. Mechanism of tryptic activation of Clostridium botulinum type E toxin. J. Bacteriol. 89:1176–1179. 1965.—The toxic peptide of trypsin activated Clostridium botulinum type E toxin was purified by chromatography through columns packed with Sephadex G-75 and G-50. The molecular weight of the active peptide was estimated to lie between 10,000 and 12,000. Amino acid analyses indicated that the active peptide had lost at least 18 of the amino acid residues present in the original protein. The active peptide and the original protein were found to have different N-terminal amino acid residues. The mechanism of tryptic activation apparently involves chiefly the removal of amino acids from the N-terminus of the toxin molecule.