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_006833:838330 Wolbachia endosymbiont strain TRS of Brugia malayi, complete
Lineage: Wolbachia endosymbiont of Brugia malayi; Wolbachia; Anaplasmataceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: A nematode endosymbiont. This group of bacteria are associated with a variety of invertebrate species, some as pathogens, some in a symbiotic relationship. Typically these organisms are transmitted maternally from mother to daughter transovarially (through the egg) although these bacteria can affect their hosts reproductive capabilities in order to enhance transmission. The net outcome is the increase of hosts carrying the bacteria in the next generation, thereby increasing transmission. This strain naturally infects Brugia malayi, a parasitic filarial nematode that causes lymphatic filariasis, one of the most devastating diseases in humans. The endosymbiont plays important roles in the biology of the nematide host. One of the known such effects are aberrant sex ratios in the host, parthenogenesis and feminization of genetic males, etc.