Query: NC_016776:3356718 Bacteroides fragilis 638R, complete genome Lineage: Bacteroides fragilis; Bacteroides; Bacteroidaceae; Bacteroidales; Bacteroidetes; Bacteria General Information: This group of microbes constitute the most abundant members of the intestinal microflora of mammals. Typically they are symbionts, but they can become opportunistic pathogens in the peritoneal (intra-abdominal) cavity. Breakdown of complex plant polysaccharides such as cellulose and hemicellulose and host-derived polysaccharides such as mucopolysaccharides is aided by the many enzymes these organisms produce. Although only a minor component of the human gut microflora, this organism is a major component of clinical specimens and is the most common anaerobe isolated.
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General Information: Isolated from a soil sample from Nepal. 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.