Query: NC_014499:63365 Candidatus Sulcia muelleri CARI chromosome, complete genome
Lineage: Sulcia muelleri; Sulcia; ; Flavobacteriales; Bacteroidetes; Bacteria
General Information: This organism is a gut symbiont of the Blue-Green Sharpshooter and several other leafhopper species. It synthesizes amino acids for the host, enabling the leafhopper to live on a diet of plant sap. The Blue-Green Sharpshooter is an important vector for Pierce's Disease in plants, caused by the spread of Xylella fastidiosa.
Subject: NC_010673:479552 Borrelia hermsii DAH, complete genome
Lineage: Borrelia hermsii; Borrelia; Spirochaetaceae; Spirochaetales; Spirochaetes; Bacteria
General Information: This strain was isolated from a case of relapsing fever in western Washington, USA. Borrelia hermsii is the causative agent of tick-borne relapsing fever in the western United States and Canada. Borrelia then multiplies rapidly, causing a generalized infection throughout the tick. While feeding, the tick passes the organism into a mammalian host through its infectious saliva. Relapsing fever is characterized by a period of chills, fever, headache, and malaise, an asymptomatic period, followed by another episode of symptoms. This cycle of relapsing is due to changes in the surface proteins of Borrelia, which allow it to avoid detection and removal by the host immune system. This antigenic variation is the result of homologous recombination of silent proteins into an expressed locus, causing partial or complete replacement of one serotype with another. These plasmids carry genes involved in antigenic variation and pathogenicity.