Query: NC_016807:551895 Mycoplasma pneumoniae 309, complete genome
Lineage: Mycoplasma pneumoniae; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasmataceae; Mycoplasmatales; Tenericutes; Bacteria
General Information: This genus currently comprises more than 120 obligate parasitic species found in a wide spectrum of hosts, including humans, animals, insects and plants. The primary habitats of human and animal mycoplasmas are mucous membranes of the respiratory and urogenital tracts, eyes, mammary glands and the joints. Infection that proceeds through attachment of the bacteria to the host cell via specialized surface proteins, adhesins, and subsequent invasion, results in prolonged intracellular persistence that may cause lethality. Once detected in association with their eukaryotic host tissue, most mycoplasmas can be cultivated in the absence of a host if their extremely fastidious growth requirements are met.
Subject: NC_002973:72328 Listeria monocytogenes str. 4b F2365, complete genome
Lineage: Listeria monocytogenes; Listeria; Listeriaceae; Bacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: This strain was isolated in 1985 in California, USA, during an outbreak of listeriosis among patients with AIDS. The strain is of serotype 4b and was isolated from a cheese product that caused the outbreak. This organism, which causes listeriosis, is one of the leading causes of death from food-borne pathogens especially in pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. It is found in environments such as decaying vegetable matter, sewage, water, and soil, and it can survive extremes of both temperatures (1-45 degrees C) and salt concentration marking it as an extremely dangerous food-born pathogen, especially on food that is not reheated. This organism is enteroinvasive, and utilizes an actin-based motility system by using a surface protein, ActA, that promotes actin polymerization, to spread intercellularly using the polymerized cytoskeletal protein as a "motor". There are 13 serovars associated with Listeria monocytogenes, and the serovar 4b strains are more commonly associated with invasive disease.