Query: NC_012730:293634 Rickettsia peacockii str. Rustic, complete genome
Lineage: Rickettsia peacockii; Rickettsia; Rickettsiaceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Rickettsia peacockii was initially identified in wood ticks from the eastern side of the Bitterroot Valley in Montana. Cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the Bitterroot Valley are associated with exposure to ticks from the western side. Ticks from the east side are primarily infected with R. peacockii which is nonvirulent and may prevent the establishment of pathogenic Rickettsia species in these ticks.
Subject: NC_001263:243000 Deinococcus radiodurans R1 chromosome 1, complete sequence
Lineage: Deinococcus radiodurans; Deinococcus; Deinococcaceae; Deinococcales; Deinococcus-Thermus; Bacteria
General Information: This red-pigmented organism's name means "strange berry that withstands radiation", marking the fact that this organism is one of the most radiation-resistant known. It can tolerate radiation levels at 1000 times the levels that would kill a human and it was originally isolated in 1956 from a can of meat that had been irradiated with X-rays. The resistance to radiation may reflect its resistance to dessication, which also causes DNA damage. This organism may be of use in cleaning up toxic metals found at nuclear weapons production sites due to the radiation resistance. This bacterium is also a highly efficient transformer, and can readily take up exogenous DNA from the environment, which may also aid DNA repair. This organism carries multiple copies of many DNA repair genes, suggesting a robust system for dealing with DNA damage. The recombination system may rely on multiple copies of various repeat elements found throughout the genome.