Query: NC_009879:260000 Rickettsia canadensis str. McKiel, complete genome
Lineage: Rickettsia canadensis; Rickettsia; Rickettsiaceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This organism was originally isolated from ticks in a field study on tick-transmitted diseases of small mammals in Canada. Member of the typhus group of Rickettsiales. Members of this genus, like other Rickettsial organisms such as Neorickettsia and Anaplasma, are obligate intracellular pathogens. In both groups, the bacteria are transmitted via an insect, usually a tick, to a host organism where they target endothelial cells and sometimes macrophages. They attach via an adhesin, rickettsial outer membrane protein A, and are internalized where they persist as cytoplasmically free organisms. Rickettsia canadensis was originally thought to be a member of the typhus group of Rickettsiales, however, it is now thought to represent a distict group with the rickettsia.
Subject: NC_020211:4168189 Serratia marcescens WW4, complete genome
Lineage: Serratia marcescens; Serratia; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This organism was discovered in 1819 by Bizio who named the organism after the Italian physicist Serrati. It was considered a nonpathogenic organism until late in the 20th century, although pathogenicity was noted as early as 1913. Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic human pathogen that is increasingly associated with life-threatening hospital-acquired infections. It is an environmental organism that has a broad host range, and is capable of infecting vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as plants. In humans, Serratia marcescens can cause meningitis (inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord), endocarditis (inflammation of heart muscle) and pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys). Many strains are resistant to multiple antibiotics. Environmental isolates are noted by production of the red pigment prodigiosin.