Bacilli, anthrax disease producing

Yon are given a sample of DNA that is the plasmid pXOl from Bacillus anthracis, the cansative bacterium of the disease anthrax. The pXOl plasmid that carries the gene for producing anthrax toxin is circular, is double-stranded, and contains -180,000 base pairs, with a G -1- C content of 32.5%. 

Anthrax, caused by Bacillus anthraciSy is a sporeforming, gram-positive rod that produces a lethal endotoxin. An effective vaccine was discovered by Pasteur in 1881. In the U.S., almost all human infections are cutaneous and limited to workers handling imported goat hair, wool, and hides from endemic regions with poor infectious disease controls. 

The other major health care products produced with the help of industrial fermentation are bacterial vaccines, therapeutic proteins, steroids, and gene therapy vectors. There are two categories of bacterial vaccines living and inactivated vaccines. Living vaccines consist of weakened, also known as attenuated, bacteria. Examples of living vaccines include those for diseases such as anthrax, which is caused by Bacillus anthracis, and typhoid fever, which is caused by Salmonella typhi. Inactivated vaccines are composed... 

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