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.
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General Information: Desulfovibrio desulfuricans subsp. desulfuricans str. ATCC 27774 was isolated from the rumen of a sheep. D. desulfuricans reduces sulfate to sulfide found in soil, freshwater, saltwater and the intestinal tract of animals. This organism grows anaerobically and utilizes a wide variety of electron acceptors, including sulfate, sulfur, nitrate, and nitrite, as well as others. The nitrate reduction pathway is not expressed while sulfate is available. Alternatively, the sulfate reduction pathway is constitutively expressed when the cells are growing with nitrate reduction. A number of toxic metals are reduced, including uranium (VI), chromium (VI) and iron (III), making this organism of interest as bioremediator. Metal corrosion, a problem that is partly the result of the collective activity of this bacterium, results in billions of dollars in losses each year to the petroleum industry. This organism is responsible for the production of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas in marine sediments and in terrestrial environments such as drilling sites for petroleum products.