Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTP

Query: NC_001263:2236777 Deinococcus radiodurans R1 chromosome 1, complete sequence

Lineage: Deinococcus radiodurans; Deinococcus; Deinococcaceae; Deinococcales; Deinococcus-Thermus; Bacteria

General Information: This red-pigmented organism's name means "strange berry that withstands radiation", marking the fact that this organism is one of the most radiation-resistant known. It can tolerate radiation levels at 1000 times the levels that would kill a human and it was originally isolated in 1956 from a can of meat that had been irradiated with X-rays. The resistance to radiation may reflect its resistance to dessication, which also causes DNA damage. This organism may be of use in cleaning up toxic metals found at nuclear weapons production sites due to the radiation resistance. This bacterium is also a highly efficient transformer, and can readily take up exogenous DNA from the environment, which may also aid DNA repair. This organism carries multiple copies of many DNA repair genes, suggesting a robust system for dealing with DNA damage. The recombination system may rely on multiple copies of various repeat elements found throughout the genome.

Subject: NC_008343:823093 Granulibacter bethesdensis CGDNIH1, complete genome

Lineage: Granulibacter bethesdensis; Granulibacter; Acetobacteraceae; Rhodospirillales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: Isolated from a patient with fever and lymphadenitis. Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare inherited disease of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase system causing defective production of toxic oxygen metabolites, impaired bacterial and fungal killing, and recurrent life-threatening infections. This species was isolated from a 39 year old man with CGD and was shown to be the causal agent of the disease by classical methods. The isolation of this organism is the first known case of a bacterium from the Acetobacteraceae family to be the cause of an invasive human disease.