Query: NC_012881:4097552 Desulfovibrio salexigens DSM 2638, complete genome
Lineage: Desulfovibrio salexigens; Desulfovibrio; Desulfovibrionaceae; Desulfovibrionales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Isolation: mud in British Guyana; Temp: Mesophile; Temp: 37 C; Habitat: Mud. Desulfovibrio are sulfate-reducing bacteria which reduce sulfate to sulfide found in soil, freshwater, saltwater and the intestinal tract of animals. These organisms typically grow anaerobically, although some can tolerate oxygen, and they utilize a wide variety of electron acceptors, including sulfate, sulfur, nitrate, and nitrite, as well as others. A number of toxic metals are reduced, including uranium (VI), chromium (VI) and iron (III), making these organisms of interest as bioremediators. These organisms are responsible for the production of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas in marine sediments and in terrestrial environments such as drilling sites for petroleum products.
Subject: NC_005810:2180303 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.