Query: NC_009089:1 Clostridium difficile 630, complete genome
Lineage: Peptoclostridium difficile; Peptoclostridium; Peptostreptococcaceae; Clostridiales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: This strain is the epidemic type X variant that has been extensively studied in research and clinical laboratories. It produces both toxin A, and B. Causative agent of pseudomembranous colitis. This genus comprises about 150 metabolically diverse species of anaerobes that are ubiquitous in virtually all anoxic habitats where organic compounds are present, including soils, aquatic sediments and the intestinal tracts of animals and humans. This shape is attributed to the presence of endospores that develop under conditions unfavorable for vegetative growth and distend single cells terminally or sub-terminally. Spores germinate under conditions favorable for vegetative growth, such as anaerobiosis and presence of organic substrates. It is believed that present day Mollicutes (Eubacteria) have evolved regressively (i.e., by genome reduction) from gram-positive clostridia-like ancestors with a low GC content in DNA. Some species are capable of producing organic solvents (acetone, ethanol, etc,), molecular hydrogen and other useful compounds. This species is now recognized as the major causative agent of pseudomembranous colitis (inflammation of the colon) and diarrhea that may occur following antibiotic treatment. This bacterium causes a wide spectrum of disease, ranging from mild, self-limiting diarrhea to serious diarrhea and, in some cases, complications such as pseudomembrane formation, toxic megacolon (dilation of the colon) and peritonitis, which often lead to lethality among patients. The bacteria produce high molecular mass polypeptide cytotoxins, A and B. Some strains produce only one of the toxins, others produce both. Toxin A causes inflammatory reaction involving hypersecretion of fluid and hemorrhagic necrosis through triggering cytokine release by neutrophils. Alteration of intestinal microbial balance with antibiotic therapy and increased exposure to the bacterium in a hospital setting allows C. difficile to colonize susceptible individuals. Moreover, it has been shown that subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics promote increased toxin production by C. difficile.
Subject: NC_004432:1225077 Mycoplasma penetrans HF-2, complete genome
Lineage: Mycoplasma penetrans; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasmataceae; Mycoplasmatales; Tenericutes; Bacteria
General Information: This strain has been isolated from the tracheal aspirate of a previously healthy HIV-negative patient with severe respiratory symptoms caused by this infection. Causes urogenital and respiratory disease. This genus currently comprises more than 120 obligate parasitic species found in a wide spectrum of hosts, including humans, animals, insects and plants. The primary habitats of human and animal mycoplasmas are mucous 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 invasion, results in prolonged intracellular persistence that may cause lethality. Once detected in association with their eukaryotic host tissue, most mycoplasmas can be cultivated in the absence of a host if their extremely fastidious growth requirements are met. The latter is one of the major traits that puts them in the separate taxonomic group of microorganisms, class Mollicutes. The cell membrane is rich in protein components (up to two thirds of the membrane mass) that largely consists of highly structurally adaptive lipoproteins employed in invading the host immune system, attachment to the host cells, and pathogenic invasion. Cell division proceeds via normal binary fission or via elongation of a parental cell to form multinucleated filaments and the subsequent breakup to form coccoid bodies.Mycoplasmas carry the smallest genomes of self-replicating cells (less than 500 recognizable coding regions), which is one of the reasons they were among the first microorganisms selected for the genome-sequencing projects. During their evolution, mycoplasmas appear to have lost all of the genes involved in amino acid and cofactor biosynthesis, synthesis of the cell wall and lipid metabolism, resulting in a requirement for the full spectrum of substrates and cofactors taken up from the host or from the complex artificial culture medium. They have lost a number of genes involved in cellular processes, such as cell division, heat shock response, regulatory genes, the two-component signal transduction systems, histidine protein kinases or their target response regulators, and most transcription factors. The majority of mycoplasmas are deficient in genes coding for components of intermediary and energy metabolism and thus are dependent mostly on glycolysis as an ATP-generating pathway. This organism infects humans in the urogenital and respiratory tracts though invasion of tissues. The disease is mainly associated with HIV-1 infection, particularly in the homosexual population, and is very persistent and believed to contribute to the deterioration of the immune system during HIV. Mycoplasma penetrans infection has also been suggested to be a primary cause of some forms of human urethritis and respiratory disease in non-HIV individuals.