Query: NC_012225:2474042 Brachyspira hyodysenteriae WA1, complete genome
Lineage: Brachyspira hyodysenteriae; Brachyspira; Brachyspiraceae; Spirochaetales; Spirochaetes; Bacteria
General Information: Brachyspira hyodysenteriae is the causative agent of swine dysentery, which is a severe mucohemorrhagic diarrheal disease of pigs that has economic significance for pork-producing countries. The bacterium can survive for several weeks in cold moist conditions but not under warm dry conditions. It spreads slowly, building up in numbers as the dose rate of the causal agent builds up in the environment. Pigs that recover develop a low immunity and rarely suffer from the disease again. It can be spread by other organisms (flies, mice, birds and dogs) or external mechanical factors; its main habitat is the porcine cecum and colon. It is chemotactically attracted to mucin which it penetrates with a corkscrew-like motility.
Subject: NC_009749:1699152 Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica FTA, complete genome
Lineage: Francisella tularensis; Francisella; Francisellaceae; Thiotrichales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Isolated from an immunocompetent 56-year old male with bacteremic pneumonia in France. Francisella tularensis is a non-motile, aerobic, rod-shaped Gram-negative bacterium and is the 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.