Query: NC_011283:5011497 Klebsiella pneumoniae 342 chromosome, complete genome
Lineage: Klebsiella pneumoniae; Klebsiella; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Klebsiella pneumoniae 342 was isolated from the stem tissue of Zea mays. This strain fixes atmospheric nitrogen and may be able to provide nitrogen, in the form of ammonia, to plant cells. This organism is the most medically important organism within the genus Klebsiella. It is an environmental organism found in water, soil, and on the surface of plants. Several strains have been isolated from plant tissues and are nitrogen-fixing endophytes that may be a source of nitrogen for the plant. Other strains can become opportunistic pathogens which infect humans, and typically causes hospital-acquired infections in immunocompromised patients. Major sites of infection include the lungs, where it causes a type of pneumonia, and urinary tract infections. Klebsiella can also enter the bloodstream (bacterimia) and cause sepsis. The pathogen can also infect animals and cause inflammation of the uterus in horses as well as more generalized infections in other mammals. This organism expresses numerous pathogenicity factors, including multiple adhesins, capsular polysaccharide, siderophores, and lipopolysaccharide for the evasion of host defenses. The multiple antibiotic resistance genes carried on the chromosome inhibit efforts to clear the organism from infected patients via antibiotic use.
Subject: NC_004337:3049118 Shigella flexneri 2a str. 301, complete genome
Lineage: Shigella flexneri; Shigella; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain was isolated in 1984 from a patient in Beijing, China. It is similar to pathogenic Escherichia coli except for the more numerous insertion sequences and contains a virulence plasmid (pCP301). Causes enteric disease. Shigella This genus is named for the Japanese scientist (Shiga) who discovered them in the 1890s. They are closely related to the Escherichia group, and may be considered the same species. are human-specific pathogens that are transmitted via contaminated food and water and are the leading causes of endemic bacillary dysentery, and over 1 million deaths worldwide are attributed to them. The bacteria infect the epithelial lining of the colon, causing acute inflammation by entering the host cell cytoplasm and spreading intercellularly. are extremely virulent organisms that require very few cells in order to cause disease. Both the type III secretion system, which delivers effector molecules into the host cell, and some of the translocated effectors such as the invasion plasmid antigens (Ipas), are encoded on the plasmid. The bacterium produces a surface protein that localizes to one pole of the cell (IcsA) which binds to and promotes actin polymerization, resulting in movement of the bacterium through the cell cytoplasm, and eventually to neighboring cells, which results in inflammatory destruction of the mucosal lining. This organism, along with Shigella sonnei, is the major cause of shigellosis in industrialized countries and is responsible for endemic infections.