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SUMMARY: Various toxic and non-toxic Clostridium botulinum strains can be grouped according to DNA binding homology but not according to DNA composition. The guanine + cytosine (GC) contents of DNA from six strains were 28 to 30%. DNA binding with radioactive DNA from C. botulinum type E, MINN strain, revealed that the non-proteolytic strains type B, 17, type F, 202 and type E, DETROIT are 100% homologous to the E, MINN strain. Clostridium botulinum type E, 32, the boticin producing s 5, and the non-toxic 24 NT, 26 NT and 5 i had 58 to 78% homology with the MINN strain. Clostridium botulinum type A, 62 and 78, type B, 32, type C, 573, and non-toxic OS/E1, OS/E7 and OS/MINN strains had only 6 to 14% homology with type E, MINN. Competition experiments with unlabelled DNA confirmed these results. The studies indicate that strains which are closely related serologically and biochemically are also closely related genetically, and vice versa. The data do not support the idea of a common origin of the non-toxic os strains and C. botulinum type E. The toxic type E strains and the toxic type A, B and C strains of C. botulinum are genetically heterogenous.
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