Query: NC_009443:142500 Streptococcus suis 98HAH33, complete genome
Lineage: Streptococcus suis; Streptococcus; Streptococcaceae; Lactobacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: Isolated from a human in Haian County, Jiangsu Province, China, 1998. Causative agent of meningitis, endocarditis, septicemia and arthritis in swine. Streptococci are Gram-positive, nonmotile, nonsporeforming, catalase-negative cocci that occur in pairs or chains. Members of this genus vary widely in pathogenic potential. Most streptococci are facultative anaerobes, and some are obligate anaerobes. Serologic grouping is based on antigenic differences in cell wall carbohydrates, in cell wall pili-associated protein, and in the polysaccharide capsule in group B streptococci. Streptococcus suis is a pathogen of pigs and is responsible for a variety of diseases including meningitis, arthritis and pneumonia. Occasionally this organism can infect humans causing septicemia, meningitis and endocarditis.
Subject: NC_016047:1978312 Bacillus subtilis subsp. spizizenii TU-B-10 chromosome, complete
Lineage: Bacillus subtilis; Bacillus; Bacillaceae; Bacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: This organism was one of the first bacteria studied, and was named Vibrio subtilis in 1835 and renamed Bacillus subtilis in 1872. It is one of the most well characterized bacterial organisms, and is a model system for cell differentiation and development. This soil bacterium can divide asymmetrically, producing an endospore that is resistant to environmental factors such as heat, acid, and salt, and which can persist in the environment for long periods of time. The endospore is formed at times of nutritional stress, allowing the organism to persist in the environment until conditions become favorable. Prior to the decision to produce the spore the bacterium might become motile, through the production of flagella, and also take up DNA from the environment through the competence system. The sporulation process is complex and involves the coordinated regulation of hundreds of genes in the genome. This initial step results in the coordinated asymmetric cellular division and endospore formation through multiple stages that produces a single spore from the mother cell.