Genetic analysis of type E botulinum toxin-producing Clostridium butyricum strains

Clostridium butyricum appears to occur all over the world, according to researchers who analyzed the type E botulinum toxin gene from the bacterium using the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and Southern blot hybridization. The bacterial samples came from cases of food-borne botulism in Italy and China, and from soil in China.