Query: NC_012659:5200831 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_004631:3112043 Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi Ty2, complete
Lineage: Salmonella enterica; Salmonella; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This pathogenic strain of Salmonella typhi was isolated in the early 1970s. It contains no multidrug resistance plasmids and has been used for vaccine development. This serovar is a human-specific organism that causes the life-threatening illness Typhoid fever which is acquired by coming into contact with contaminated food or water. Annually, 17 million people are infected, with 600,000 fatalities, mostly in developing countries. It contains multiple fimbrial operons that may be used to create extracellular appendages for attachment and entry into host intestinal epithelial cells. Causes enteric infections. This group of Enterobactericiae have pathogenic characteristics and are one of the most common causes of enteric infections (food poisoning) worldwide. They were named after the scientist Dr. Daniel Salmon who isolated the first organism, Salmonella choleraesuis, from the intestine of a pig. The presence of several pathogenicity islands (PAIs) that encode various virulence factors allows Salmonella spp. to colonize and infect host organisms. There are two important PAIs, Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 and 2 (SPI-1 and SPI-2) that encode two different type III secretion systems for the delivery of effector molecules into the host cell that result in internalization of the bacteria which then leads to systemic spread.