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_005810:4306716 Yersinia pestis biovar Microtus str. 91001, complete genome
Lineage: Yersinia pestis; Yersinia; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Causative agent of plague. Specific virulence factors are encoded within pathogenicity islands (PAIs) that are required for the invasive phenotype associated with Yersinia infections. One key virulence plasmid contained by the three human-specific pathogens is pCD1/pYv, which encodes a type III secretion system for the delivery of virulence proteins that contribute to internalization into the host cell. It is the causative agent of plague (bubonic and pulmonary) a devastating disease which has killed millions worldwide. The organism can be transmitted from rats to humans through the bite of an infected flea or from human-to-human through the air during widespread infection. Yersinia pestis is an extremely pathogenic organism that requires very few numbers in order to cause disease, and is often lethal if left untreated. The organism is enteroinvasive, and can survive and propagate in macrophages prior to spreading systemically throughout the host. Yersinia pestis consists of three biotypes or serovars, Antiqua, Mediavalis, and Orientalis, that are associated with three major pandemics throughout human history. pMT1 encodes a protein, murine toxin, that aids rat-to-human transmission by enhancing survival of the organism in the flea midgut. Yersinia pestis also contains a PAI on the chromosome that is similar to the SPI-2 PAI from Salmonella that allows intracellular survival in the organism.