Query: NC_010263:278463 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.
Subject: NC_014802:27857 Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni ICDCCJ07001 chromosome, complete
Lineage: Campylobacter jejuni; Campylobacter; Campylobacteraceae; Campylobacterales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Gram-negative, microaerophilic, flagellate, spiral bacterium, Campylobacter species are the leading cause of food-borne gastroenteritis in developed countries. Infection with C. jejuni is the most frequent antecedent to a form of neuromuscular paralysis known as Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). Strain ICDCCJ07001 was isolated following a GBS outbreak in Shuangyang, a town in northern China in 2007, from a severely affected 15 year-old girl GBS patient who had been on a ventilator for 180 days. Her clinical symptoms were motor axonal neuropathy. This organism is the leading cause of bacterial food poisoning (campylobacteriosis) in the world, and is more prevalent than Salmonella enteritis (salmonellosis). Found throughout nature, it can colonize the intestines of both mammals and birds, and transmission to humans occurs via contaminated food products. This organism can invade the epithelial layer by first attaching to epithelial cells, then penetrating through them. Systemic infections can also occur causing more severe illnesses.