Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTP

Query: NC_010513:542312 Xylella fastidiosa M12 chromosome, complete genome

Lineage: Xylella fastidiosa; Xylella; Xanthomonadaceae; Xanthomonadales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: Causal agent of citrus variegated chlorosis. This organism was first identified in 1993 as the causal agent of citrus variegated chlorosis, a disease that affects varieties of sweet oranges. This disease was first noticed in Brazil in 1987, and it greatly affects commercial orchards resulting in crop devastation worldwide. Other strains of this species cause a range of diseases in mulberry, pear, almond, elm, sycamore, oak, maple, pecan and coffee which collectively result in multimillion dollar devastation of economically important plants. The bacteria are transmitted from the gut of the insect vector (sharpshooter leafhopper) to the plant xylem (water conducting system) when the insect feeds. Xylella fastidiosa is similar to Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris in that it produces a wide variety of pathogenic factors for colonization in a host-specific manner including a large number of fimbrial and afimbrial adhesins for attachment. It does not contain a type III secretion system, but possesses genes for a type II secretion system for export of exoenzymes that degrade the plant cell wall and allow the bacterium to colonize the plant xylem. The cell produces an exopolysaccharide that is similar to the xanthan gum produced by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris.

Subject: NC_009881:896007 Rickettsia akari str. Hartford, complete genome

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

General Information: This strain was isolated from mites in Hartford. Causative agent of Rickettsialpox. 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. Rickettsia akari causes a mild disease, Rickettsialpox, which is an acute fever-inducing illness transmitted by a hematophagous mite that infects the common house mouse and bites humans. Infection by this organism may be confused with anthrax due to the black eschar. This bacterium is a member of the spotted fever group of Rickettsiales and is endemic to New York, USA, but is also found in other cities in the USA, Russia, South Korea, and South Africa.