Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTP

Query: NC_012659:4116971 Bacillus anthracis str. A0248, complete genome

Lineage: Bacillus anthracis; Bacillus; Bacillaceae; Bacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria

General Information: This strain (96-10355; K1256) is a human isolated from USA. This organism was the first to be shown to cause disease by Dr. Robert Koch, leading to the formulation of Koch's postulates, which were verified by Dr. Louis Pasteur (the organism, isolated from sick animals, was grown in the laboratory and then used to infect healthy animals and make them sick). This organism was also the first for which an attenuated strain was developed as a vaccine. Herbivorous animals become infected with the organism when they ingest spores from the soil whereas humans become infected when they come into contact with a contaminated animal. Anthrax is not transmitted due to person-to-person contact. The three forms of the disease reflect the sites of infection which include cutaneous (skin), pulmonary (lung), and intestinal. Pulmonary and intestinal infections are often fatal if left untreated. Spores are taken up by macrophages and become internalized into phagolysozomes (membranous compartment) whereupon germination initiates. Bacteria are released into the bloodstream once the infected macrophage lyses whereupon they rapidly multiply, spreading throughout the circulatory and lymphatic systems, a process that results in septic shock, respiratory distress and organ failure. The spores of this pathogen have been used as a terror weapon.

Subject: NC_008529:1133665 Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus ATCC BAA-365, complete

Lineage: Lactobacillus delbrueckii; Lactobacillus; Lactobacillaceae; Lactobacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria

General Information: Lactic acid bacterium used in the fermentation of dairy products. They are commonly found in the oral, vaginal, and intestinal regions of many animals. They are important industrial microbes that contribute to the production of cheese, yogurt, and other products such as fermented milks, all stemming from the production of lactic acid, which inhibits the growth of other organisms as well as lowering the pH of the food product. Industrial production requires the use of starter cultures, which are carefully cultivated, created, and maintained, which produce specific end products during fermentation that impart flavor to the final product, as well as contributing important metabolic reactions, such as the breakdown of milk proteins during cheese production. The end product of fermentation, lactic acid, is also being used as a starter molecule for complex organic molecule syntheses. The subspecies bulgaricus is used as a starter culture for a number of fermented dairy products such as yogurt and Swiss and Italian-type cheeses, and is a thermophilic culture, where the optimum temperature is 42 degrees C.