Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTP

Query: NC_007880:1667922 Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica, complete genome

Lineage: Francisella tularensis; Francisella; Francisellaceae; Thiotrichales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This strain (live vaccine strain) was created in the 1960's in the USA and provides protection against tularemia in animal models as well as in humans. 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.

Subject: NC_012633:169444 Rickettsia africae ESF-5, complete genome

Lineage: Rickettsia africae; Rickettsia; Rickettsiaceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This organism was isolated from a cattle tick, Amblyomma variegatum, collected in Ethiopia. This organism, a member of the spotted fever group of the Rickettsiales, is found in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. Rickettsia africae causes a flu-like illness, characterized by a mild fever and severe headache, without the skin rash common to other spotted fever group Rickettsia species. Members of this genus, like other Rickettsial organisms such as Neorickettsia and Anaplasma, are obligate intracellular pathogens. In both groups, the bacteria are transmitted via an insect, usually a tick, to a host organism where they target endothelial cells and sometimes macrophages. They attach via an adhesin, rickettsial outer membrane protein A, and are internalized where they persist as cytoplasmically free organisms.