Query: NC_013316:2968000 Clostridium difficile R20291, complete genome
Lineage: Peptoclostridium difficile; Peptoclostridium; Peptostreptococcaceae; Clostridiales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: Clostridium difficile R20291 was isolated in Stoke Mandeville Hospital, UK in 2006 and is closely related to the North American hypervirulent BI strains. Clostridium difficile, a Gram-positive, spore-forming anaerobic bacterium, is the leading cause of infectious diarrhea among patients in hospitals worldwide, causing C. difficile infection (CDI). An important nosocomial pathogen, it is frequently associated with antibiotic treatment and causes diseases ranging from antibiotic-associated diarrhea to life-threatening pseudomembraneous colitis.
Subject: NC_004722:5381208 Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579, complete genome
Lineage: Bacillus cereus; Bacillus; Bacillaceae; Bacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: Soil microorganism that can cause food poisoning. This organism is a soil-dwelling opportunistic pathogen that causes food poisoning in infected individuals. There are two forms of food poisoning that occur, one is rapid onset (emetic) and the other is late onset (diarrheal). The rapid onset is characterized by nausea and vomiting while the late onset is characterized by diarrhea and abdominal pain. The emetic disease is caused by a small stable dodecadepsipeptide cerulide whereas the diarrheal disease is caused by a heat labile enterotoxin. Some strains produce a potent cytotoxin that forms a pore in the membrane of eukaryotic cells and causes necrotic enteritis (death of intestinal epithelial cells) while the unique tripartite membrane lytic toxin hemolysin BL contributes to the diarrheal disease and destructive infections of the eye.