Query: NC_007940:1138324 Rickettsia bellii RML369-C, complete genome
Lineage: Rickettsia bellii; Rickettsia; Rickettsiaceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain (RML 369-C) was isolated in embryonated chicken eggs from a triturated (powdered) pool of unfed adult Dermacentor variabilis ticks collected from vegetation near Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA, in 1966. Transmitted via American ticks. This organism represents the third group of Rickettsial species and is separate from the spotted fever group and the typhus group. This organism is transovarially transmitted in American ticks and shows the largest range of host organisms including Dermacentor and Amblyomma.
Subject: NC_002528:546500 Buchnera aphidicola str. APS (Acyrthosiphon pisum), complete
Lineage: Buchnera aphidicola; Buchnera; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain is found in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum.Aphid endosymbiont. Almost all aphids contain maternally transmitted bacteriocyte cells, which themselves contain bacteria called Buchnera. The aphids live on a restricted diet (plant sap), rich in carbohydrates, but poor in nitrogenous or other essential compounds. It is believed that the Buchnera provide the essential nutrients the host lacks. Besides a nutritional co-dependence, due to a co-existence of millions of years, Buchnera have lost the ability to produce cell surface components such as lipopolysaccharides. This makes for an obligate endosymbiont relationship between host and Buchnera. Buchnera are prokaryotic cells which belong to the gamma-Proteobacteria, closely related to the Enterobacteriaceae family. Phylogenetic studies using 16S rRNA indicate that the symbiotic relationship was established around 200-250 million years ago. Since Buchnera are closely related to Escherichia coli and Haemophilus influenzae, comparative genomic studies can shed light on the evolutionary mechanisms of intracellular endosymbiosis as well as the different underlying molecular basis between organisms with parasitic behavior and symbionts.