Query: NC_007797:914500 Anaplasma phagocytophilum HZ, complete genome
Lineage: Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Anaplasma; Anaplasmataceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Isolated from a patient in New York, USA, in 1995. This organism is a tick-borne (Ixodesspp.) obligate intracellular pathogen that infects humans and causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis as well as infecting several other types of animals. This organism produces a number of pathogenic factors that aid virulence. These include specific adhesins for neutrophils, virulence factors that inhibit both phagosome-lysozome fusion and production of reactive oxygen species that would normally kill the bacterium. The bacterium also inhibits programmed cell death of the neutrophil (apoptosis) and induces expression of interleukin-8, which causes neutrophil chemotaxis, thereby increasing the spread of the bacterium throughout the host organism.
Subject: NC_008369:291640 Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica OSU18, complete genome
Lineage: Francisella tularensis; Francisella; Francisellaceae; Thiotrichales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Isolated from a beaver that died of tularemia in Oklahoma in 1978. Causative agent of tularemia. This organism was first identified by Edward Francis as the causative agent of a plague-like illness that affected squirrels in Tulare county in California in the early part of the 20th century. The organism now bears his name. The disease, which has been noted throughout recorded history, can be transmitted to humans by infected ticks or deerflies, infected meat, or by aerosol, and thus is a potential bioterrorism agent. This organism has a high infectivity rate, and can invade phagocytic and nonphagocytic cells, multiplying rapidly. Once within a macrophage, the organism can escape the phagosome and live in the cytosol. It is an aquatic organism, and can be found living inside protozoans, similar to what is observed with Legionella.