Query: NC_013928:370893 Streptococcus mutans NN2025, complete genome
Lineage: Streptococcus mutans; Streptococcus; Streptococcaceae; Lactobacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: This strain is a clinical serotype c strain isolated in Japan in 2002. Streptococci are Gram-positive, nonmotile, nonsporeforming, catalase-negative cocci that occur in pairs or chains. Members of this genus vary widely in pathogenic potential. Most streptococci are facultative anaerobes, and some are obligate anaerobes. Streptococcus mutans was first isolated in 1924 from human carious (cavities) lesions and is the main cause of tooth decay. This organism thrives in a bacterial community known as a dental plaque which forms on the surface of teeth. This organism has also been implicated in cases of infective endocarditis.
Subject: NC_002696:2829002 Caulobacter crescentus CB15, complete genome
Lineage: Caulobacter vibrioides; Caulobacter; Caulobacteraceae; Caulobacterales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Bacterium that undergoes asymmetric cell division and differentiation. Caulobacter vibroides, also known as Caulobacter crescentus, inhabits aquatic environments and plays an important part in biogeochemical cycling of organic nutrients. This bacterium undergoes an unusual developmental cycle in which a swarming motile cell becomes a stalked cell that is attached to a solid surface. The stalked cell then undergoes asymmetric cell division and produces one flagellated motile daughter cell and one stalked daughter cell. Thus, the asymmetric processes in this organism provide useful models for differentiation and development. This organism also contains a number of energy-dependent transport system, presumably enabling growth in the substrate-sparse aquatic environments that it lives in.