Query: NC_007643:3799425 Rhodospirillum rubrum ATCC 11170, complete genome
Lineage: Rhodospirillum rubrum; Rhodospirillum; Rhodospirillaceae; Rhodospirillales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This bacterium can grow using carbon monoxide as the sole carbon and energy source and the cells contain a well characterized nitrogenase system that is post-translationally modified by ADP-ribosylation. Phototrophic bacterium. This organism is an anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium that does not produce oxygen, but instead produces extracellular elemental sulfur when harvesting light energy. The bacterium lacks the light harvesting complex 2 (LHC2) normally found in photosynthetic bacteria meaning it contains one of the simplest photosynthetic systems studied.
Subject: NC_010263:771901 Rickettsia rickettsii str. Iowa, complete genome
Lineage: Rickettsia rickettsii; Rickettsia; Rickettsiaceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Causative agent for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. This organism was first identified by Dr. Howard Rickets as the causative agent of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, which was originally named for its geographic distribution at the time, it is now known to be widespread throughout the North American continent. This bacterium is an obligate intracellular pathogen that infects primarily the vascular endothelium, and occasionally smooth muscle tissue. It is passed to the human host from a tick bite, and the tick acts as both a natural reservoir and a vector for disease transmission. Once the organism is endocytosed by the host cell, it quickly escapes the phagozome, and replicates intracellularly, causing cell death and tissue damage. The disease is characterized by a spotted rash and has a high mortality rate if left untreated.