Query: NC_010263:278463 Rickettsia rickettsii str. Iowa, complete genome
Lineage: Rickettsia rickettsii; Rickettsia; Rickettsiaceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Causative agent for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. This organism was first identified by Dr. Howard Rickets as the causative agent of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, which was originally named for its geographic distribution at the time, it is now known to be widespread throughout the North American continent. This bacterium is an obligate intracellular pathogen that infects primarily the vascular endothelium, and occasionally smooth muscle tissue. It is passed to the human host from a tick bite, and the tick acts as both a natural reservoir and a vector for disease transmission. Once the organism is endocytosed by the host cell, it quickly escapes the phagozome, and replicates intracellularly, causing cell death and tissue damage. The disease is characterized by a spotted rash and has a high mortality rate if left untreated.
Subject: NC_011961:528837 Thermomicrobium roseum DSM 5159 plasmid unnamed, complete sequence
Lineage: Thermomicrobium roseum; Thermomicrobium; Thermomicrobiaceae; Thermomicrobiales; Chloroflexi; Bacteria
General Information: Thermomicrobium roseum DSM 5159 was isolated from Yellowstone National Park, USA. Obligate thermophile with unusual cell wall structure. Thermomicrobium roseum is a red-pigmented, rod-shaped, Gram-negative extreme thermophile that possesses both an atypical cell wall composition and an unusual cell membrane that is composed entirely of long-chain 1,2-diols. Analyses of environmental sequences from hot spring environments show that T.roseum displays a low quantity but ubiquitous presence in top layers of microbial mats. Few standard housekeeping genes are found on the megaplasmid, however, it does encode a complete system for chemotaxis including both chemosensory components and an entire flagellar apparatus. T. roseum oxidizes CO aerobically, making it the first thermophile known to do so. In addition, is is propose that glycosylation of its carotenoids plays a crucial role in the adaptation of the cell membrane to this bacterium's thermophilic lifestyle. Because T. roseum is a deep-branching member of this phylum, eventhough this species is not photosynthetic, analysis of the genome provides some insight into the origins of photosynthesis in the Chloroflexi.