<unk>  is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming, motile bacterium with the ability to produce the neurotoxin<unk> .  The<unk>  toxin can cause a severe flaccid paralytic disease in humans and animals and is the most potent toxin known to humankind, natural or synthetic, with a lethal dose of 1.3-2.1ng/kg in humans.<unk>  is a diverse group of bacteria initially grouped together by their ability to produce<unk>  toxin and now known as four distinct groups,<unk>  groups I-IV. <unk>  groups I-IV, as well as some strains of<unk>  butyricum and<unk>  baratii, are the bacteria responsible for producing<unk>  toxin.<unk>  is responsible for foodborne botulism (ingestion of preformed toxin), infant botulism (intestinal infection with toxin forming<unk> , and wound botulism (infection of a wound with<unk> . <unk>  produces heat-resistant endospores that are commonly found in soil and allow for survival in adverse conditions.
Clostridium botulinum
Clostridium tetani
Clostridium beijerinckii
Pasteurella multocida
Clostridium sordellii
Bacillus cereus
Clostridium difficile
Dientamoeba fragilis