Query: NC_006360:857326 Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae 232, complete genome
Lineage: Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasmataceae; Mycoplasmatales; Tenericutes; Bacteria
General Information: This strain is used in laboratory studies of bronchopneumonia in swine. Causes enzootic pneumonia in swine. This genus currently comprizes more than 120 obligate parasitic species found in the wide spectrum of hosts, including humans, animals, insects and plants. The primary habitats of human and animal mycoplasmas are mucouse membranes of the respiratory and urogenital tracts, eyes, mammary glands and the joints. Infection that proceeds through attachment of the bacteria to the host cell via specialized surface proteins, adhesins, and subsequent invation, results in prolonged intracellular persistence that may cause lethality. Once detected in association with their eukaryotic host tissue, most of mycoplasmas can be cultivated in the absence of a host if their extremely fastidious growth requirements are met.
Subject: NC_003305:1297785 Agrobacterium tumefaciens str. C58 chromosome linear, complete
Lineage: Agrobacterium tumefaciens; Agrobacterium; Rhizobiaceae; Rhizobiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Gram-negative soil bacterium. This is the most widely studied species in the genus. Strains of Agrobacterium are classified in three biovars based on their utilisation of different carbohydrates and other biochemical tests. The differences between biovars are determined by genes on the single circle of chromosomal DNA. Biovar differences are not particularly relevant to the pathogenicity of A. tumefaciens, except in one respect: biovar 3 is found worldwide as the pathogen of gravevines. This species causes crown gall disease of a wide range of dicotyledonous (broad-leaved) plants, especially members of the rose family such as apple, pear, peach, cherry, almond, raspberry and roses. Because of the way that it infects other organisms, this bacterium has been used as a tool in plant breeding. Any desired genes, such as insecticidal toxin genes or herbicide-resistance genes, can be engineered into the bacterial DNA, and then inserted into the plant genome. This process shortens the conventional plant breeding process, and allows entirely new (non-plant) genes to be engineered into crops.