Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTN

Query: NC_014169:565724 Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum JDM301 chromosome, complete

Lineage: Bifidobacterium longum; Bifidobacterium; Bifidobacteriaceae; Bifidobacteriales; Actinobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: Representatives of this genus naturally colonize the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and are important for establishing and maintaining homeostasis of the intestinal ecosystem to allow for normal digestion. Their presence has been associated with beneficial health effects, such as prevention of diarrhea, amelioration of lactose intolerance, or immunomodulation. The stabilizing effect on GIT microflora is attributed to the capacity of bifidobacteria to produce bacteriocins, which are bacteriostatic agents with a broad spectrum of action, and to their pH-reducing activity. Most of the ~30 known species of bifidobacteria have been isolated from the mammalian GIT, and some from the vaginal and oral cavity. All are obligate anaerobes belonging to the Actinomycetales, branch of Gram-positive bacteria with high GC content that also includes Corynebacteria, Mycobacteria, and Streptomycetes. This organism is found in adult humans and formula fed infants as a normal component of gut flora.

Subject: NC_012633:169444 Rickettsia africae ESF-5, complete genome

Lineage: Rickettsia africae; Rickettsia; Rickettsiaceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This organism was isolated from a cattle tick, Amblyomma variegatum, collected in Ethiopia. This organism, a member of the spotted fever group of the Rickettsiales, is found in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. Rickettsia africae causes a flu-like illness, characterized by a mild fever and severe headache, without the skin rash common to other spotted fever group Rickettsia species. Members of this genus, like other Rickettsial organisms such as Neorickettsia and Anaplasma, are obligate intracellular pathogens. In both groups, the bacteria are transmitted via an insect, usually a tick, to a host organism where they target endothelial cells and sometimes macrophages. They attach via an adhesin, rickettsial outer membrane protein A, and are internalized where they persist as cytoplasmically free organisms.