Query: NC_012779:1966205 Edwardsiella ictaluri 93-146, complete genome
Lineage: Edwardsiella ictaluri; Edwardsiella; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Edwardsiella ictaluri is the causative agent of enteric septicemia in catfish (ESC), an economically significant disease of farm-raised catfish. The acute form of ESC causes bacterial septicemia (proliferation of bacteria in the blood) which rapidly leads to death. The chronic form of this disease causes a characteristic head lesion, and may also proceed to septicemia and death. Two plasmids, which are consistently present in Edwardsiella ictaluri isolates, have been sequenced. Both plasmids contain genes for the type III secretory system, which is involved in translocating pathogenicity proteins into the eukaryotic cell.
Subject: NC_004088:2227278 Yersinia pestis KIM, complete genome
Lineage: Yersinia pestis; Yersinia; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Causative agent of plague. Specific virulence factors are encoded within pathogenicity islands (PAIs) that are required for the invasive phenotype associated with Yersinia infections. One key virulence plasmid contained by the three human-specific pathogens is pCD1/pYv, which encodes a type III secretion system for the delivery of virulence proteins that contribute to internalization into the host cell. It is the causative agent of plague (bubonic and pulmonary) a devastating disease which has killed millions worldwide. The organism can be transmitted from rats to humans through the bite of an infected flea or from human-to-human through the air during widespread infection. Yersinia pestis is an extremely pathogenic organism that requires very few numbers in order to cause disease, and is often lethal if left untreated. The organism is enteroinvasive, and can survive and propagate in macrophages prior to spreading systemically throughout the host. Yersinia pestis consists of three biotypes or serovars, Antiqua, Mediavalis, and Orientalis, that are associated with three major pandemics throughout human history. pMT1 encodes a protein, murine toxin, that aids rat-to-human transmission by enhancing survival of the organism in the flea midgut. Yersinia pestis also contains a PAI on the chromosome that is similar to the SPI-2 PAI from Salmonella that allows intracellular survival in the organism.