Query: NC_015975:441580 Lactobacillus ruminis ATCC 27782 chromosome, complete genome
Lineage: Lactobacillus ruminis; Lactobacillus; Lactobacillaceae; Lactobacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: This organism was isolated from bovine rumen. 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.
Subject: NC_000921:1007519 Helicobacter pylori J99, complete genome
Lineage: Helicobacter pylori; Helicobacter; Helicobacteraceae; Campylobacterales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain was isolated in 1994 in the USA from a patient with duodenal ulcer. This genus consists of organisms that colonize the mucosal layer of the gastrointestinal tract or are found enterohepatically (in the liver). It was only recently discovered (1983) by two Australians (Warren and Marshall) that this organism was associated with peptic ulcers. It is one of the most common chronic infectious organisms, and is found in half the world's population. This organism attacks the gastric epithilial surface, resulting in chronic gastritis, and can cause more severe diseases including those that lead to gastric carcinomas and lymphomas, peptic ulcers, and severe diarrhea. It is an extracellular pathogen that persists in the gastric environment, which has a very low pH, by production of the urease enzyme, which converts urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide, a process which can counteract the acidic environment by production of a base. The toxins include cytolethal distending toxin, vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA) that induces host epithelial cell apopoptosis (cell death), and the cytotoxin associated antigen (CagA) which results in alteration to the host cell signalling pathways. The CagA protein is translocated into host cells by a type IV secretion system encoded by the cag pathogenicity island.