Query: NC_016802:1317365 Corynebacterium diphtheriae HC02 chromosome, complete genome
Lineage: Corynebacterium diphtheriae; Corynebacterium; Corynebacteriaceae; Actinomycetales; Actinobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: They may be found as members of the normal microflora of humans, where these bacteria find a suitable niche in virtually every anatomic site. This organism is the best known and most widely studied species of the genus. It is the causal agent of the disease diphtheria, a deadly infectious disease spreading from person to person by respiratory droplets from the throat through coughing and sneezing. In the course of infection, the bacteria invade and colonize tissues of the upper respiratory tract, proliferate and produce exotoxin that inhibits protein synthesis and causes local lesions and systemic degenerative changes in the heart, muscles, peripheral nerves, liver and other vital organs.
Subject: NC_003454:249304 Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. nucleatum ATCC 25586, complete
Lineage: Fusobacterium nucleatum; Fusobacterium; Fusobacteriaceae; Fusobacteriales; Fusobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Normal oral and gastrointestinal bacterium. This genus contains mostly obligately anaerobic bacilli. Many of the isolates are spindle-shaped, or fusiform. This organism belongs to the normal microflora of the human oral and gastrointestinal tracts. It is a very long and slender spindle-shaped bacillus with sharply pointed ends that is characterized by the ability to invade soft tissues. It acts as a bridge between early and late colonizers of the tooth surface, and exerts synergism with other bacteria in mixed infections. It is most frequently associated with periodontal diseases, as well as with some invasive human infections of the head and neck, chest, lung, liver and abdomen, and some anginas. One of the major amino acid and sugar fermentation pathways in Fusobacterium nucleatum produces butyric and acetic acids.