Query: NC_012633:169444 Rickettsia africae ESF-5, complete genome
Lineage: Rickettsia africae; Rickettsia; Rickettsiaceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This organism was isolated from a cattle tick, Amblyomma variegatum, collected in Ethiopia. This organism, a member of the spotted fever group of the Rickettsiales, is found in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. Rickettsia africae causes a flu-like illness, characterized by a mild fever and severe headache, without the skin rash common to other spotted fever group Rickettsia species. 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.
Subject: NC_002516:4747154 Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, complete genome
Lineage: Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas; Pseudomonadaceae; Pseudomonadales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Bacteria belonging to the Pseudomonas group are common inhabitants of soil and water and can also be found on the surfaces of plants and animals. Pseudomonas bacteria are found in nature in a biofilm or in planktonic form. Pseudomonas bacteria are renowned for their metabolic versatility as they can grow under a variety of growth conditions and do not need any organic growth factors. This organism is an opportunistic human pathogen. While it rarely infects healthy individuals, immunocompromised patients, like burn victims, AIDS-, cancer- or cystic fibrosis-patients are at increased risk for infection with this environmentally versatile bacteria. It is an important soil bacterium with a complex metabolism capable of degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and producing interesting, biologically active secondary metabolites including quinolones, rhamnolipids, lectins, hydrogen cyanide, and phenazines. Production of these products is likely controlled by complex regulatory networks making Pseudomonas aeruginosa adaptable both to free-living and pathogenic lifestyles. The bacterium is naturally resistant to many antibiotics and disinfectants, which makes it a difficult pathogen to treat.