NC_002935:781172 Corynebacterium diphtheriae NCTC 13129, complete genome
Host Lineage: Corynebacterium diphtheriae; Corynebacterium; Corynebacteriaceae; Actinomycetales; Actinobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain was isolated in 1997 from the pharyngeal membrane of a 72-year-old unimmunized UK female with clinical diphtheria acquired during a short Baltic cruise. Causative agent of diphtheria. They may be found as members of the normal microflora of humans, where these bacteria find a suitable niche in virtually every anatomic site. This organism is the best known and most widely studied species of the genus. It is the causal agent of the disease diphtheria, a deadly infectious disease spreading from person to person by respiratory droplets from the throat through coughing and sneezing. In the course of infection, the bacteria invade and colonize tissues of the upper respiratory tract, proliferate and produce exotoxin that inhibits protein synthesis and causes local lesions and systemic degenerative changes in the heart, muscles, peripheral nerves, liver and other vital organs. In 1951, Victor Freeman discovered that pathogenic (toxigenic) strains. Moreover, later it was found that the gene for toxin production is located in the DNA of the B-type phage.