General Information: This organism is the obligate endosymbiont for the tsetse fly Glossina brevipalpis, Glossina tachinoides, Glossina palpalis palpalis, and Glossina austeni. The tsetse fly is a vector for African trypanosomes, and is the main transmitter of deadly diseases in animals and humans in Africa. The fly feeds on a restricted diet, exclusively consisting of vertebrate blood, and lacks certain metabolic compounds needed for survival and reproduction. To complement this lack in nutrients, the tsetse fly relies mainly on the intracellular bacterial symbiont, Wigglesworthia glossinidia for its viability and fecundity.
- Sequence; - BLASTP hit: hover for score (Low score = Light, High score = Dark); - hypothetical protein; - cds: hover for description
Lineage: Exiguobacterium sibiricum; Exiguobacterium; Bacillales Family XII; Bacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: This organism was isolated from a 2-3 million-year permafrost core in Siberia, Russia and can survive and grow rapidly at low temperatures. Analysis of long-term survival of psychrophilic organisms such as this one may aid understanding of the potential growth of organisms in astrobiology. Exiguobacterium sibiricum is a psychrotolerant organism able to grow at temperatures that range from -6 to 40 degrees C. This organism is also able to survive repeated freeze/thaw cycles which may contribute to its ability to survive in cold environments.