In silico identification of molecular mimics involved in the pathogenesis of Clostridium botulinum ATCC 3502 strain

Bacterial pathogens invade and disrupt the host defense system by means of protein sequences structurally similar at global and local level both. The sharing of homologous sequences between the host and the pathogenic bacteria mediates the infection and defines the concept of molecular mimicry. In this study, various computational approaches were employed to elucidate the pathogenicity of Clostridium botulinum ATCC 3502 at genome-wide level. Genome-wide study revealed that the pathogen mimics the host (Homo sapiens) and unraveled the complex pathogenic pathway of causing infection. The comparative ‘omics’ approaches helped in selective screening of ‘molecular mimicry’ candidates followed by the qualitative assessment of the virulence potential and functional enrichment. Overall, this study provides a deep insight into the emergence and surveillance of multidrug resistant C. botulinum ATCC 3502 caused infections. This is the very first report identifying C. botulinum ATCC 3502 proteome enriched similarities to the human host proteins and resulted in the identification of 20 potential mimicry candidates, which were further characterized qualitatively by sub-cellular organization prediction and functional annotation. This study will provide a variety of avenues for future studies related to infectious agents, host-pathogen interactions and the evolution of pathogenesis process.