Query: NC_002940:1234410 Haemophilus ducreyi 35000HP, complete genome
Lineage: Haemophilus ducreyi; Haemophilus; Pasteurellaceae; Pasteurellales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain is a human passage derivative of Haemophilus ducreyi strain 35000 that is serum-resistant. Causative agent of chancroid. A group of organisms that are either obligate parasites or commensal organisms found in animal mucous membranes. Almost all species require the presence of important growth factors found in the blood of their hosts, including either X factor (protoporphyrin IX or heme) or V factor (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD or NADP)). This organism is an obligate human pathogen that causes the sexually transmitted disease chancroid (ulcer of the genital region) and it enhances the transmission of HIV (which enhances Haemophilus ducreyi transmission in turn). This organism is an apparent extracellular pathogen that resists phagocytosis. Some of the virulence factors include an outer membrane serum resistance protein, as well as two toxins, cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) and hemolysin, both of which contribute to tissue destruction.
Subject: NC_009800:2651730 Escherichia coli HS, complete genome
Lineage: Escherichia coli; Escherichia; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain (HS; serotype O9) is a human commensal that was originally isolated from a laboratory scientist at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in 1978 (Levine, 1978). Strain HS colonizes the human gastrointestinal tract in challenge experiments, but no overt signs of disease occur. Thus, this strain represents a genomic baseline for human gastrointestinal tract colonization. This organism was named for its discoverer, Theodore Escherich, and is one of the premier model organisms used in the study of bacterial genetics, physiology, and biochemistry. This enteric organism is typically present in the lower intestine of humans, where it is the dominant facultative anaerobe present, but it is only one minor constituent of the complete intestinal microflora. E. coli, is capable of causing various diseases in its host, especially when they acquire virulence traits. E. coli can cause urinary tract infections, neonatal meningitis, and many different intestinal diseases, usually by attaching to the host cell and introducing toxins that disrupt normal cellular processes.