Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTP

Query: NC_016909:171018 Rickettsia rickettsii str. Arizona chromosome, complete genome

Lineage: Rickettsia rickettsii; Rickettsia; Rickettsiaceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This genus, like other Rickettsial organisms such as Neorickettsia and Anaplasma, are obligate intracellular pathogens and is composed of two groups, the spotted fever group, and the typhus group. The latter is composed of two organisms, Rickettsia prowazekii and Rickettsia typhi. The bacteria are transmitted via an insect, usually a tick, to a host organism, in this case humans, where they target endothelial cells and sometimes macrophages. They attach via an adhesin, rickettsial outer membrane protein A, and are internalized where they persist as cytoplasmically free organisms. This organism was first identified by Dr. Howard Rickets as the causative agent of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, which was originally named for its geographic distribution at the time, it is now known to be widespread throughout the North American continent. This bacterium is an obligate intracellular pathogen that infects primarily the vascular endothelium, and occasionally smooth muscle tissue. This bacterium is an obligate intracellular pathogen that infects primarily the vascular endothelium, and occasionally smooth muscle tissue. It is passed to the human host from a tick bite, and the tick acts as both a natural reservoir and a vector for disease transmission. Once the organism is endocytosed by the host cell, it quickly escapes the phagozome, and replicates intracellularly, causing cell death and tissue damage. The disease is characterized by a spotted rash and has a high mortality rate if left untreated.

Subject: NC_009664:1569335 Kineococcus radiotolerans SRS30216, complete genome

Lineage: Kineococcus radiotolerans; Kineococcus; Kineosporiaceae; Actinomycetales; Actinobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This organism is a coccoid bacterium originally isolated from a high-level radioactive waste cell at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina, USA, in 2002. Radiation-resistant bacterium. Similarly to Deinococcus radiodurans, K. radiotolerans exhibits a high degree of resistance to ionizing gamma-radiation. Cells are also highly resistant to dessication. Kineococcus-like 16S rRNA gene sequences have been reported from the Mojave desert and other arid environments where these bacteria seem to be ubiquitous. Because of its high resistance to ionizing radiation and desiccation, K. radiotolerans has potential use in applications involving in situ biodegradation of problematic organic contaminants from highly radioactive environments. Moreover, comparative functional genomic characterization of this species and other known radiotolerant bacteria such as Deinococcus radiodurans and Rubrobacter xylanophilus will shed light onto the strategies these bacteria use for survival in high radiation environments, as well as the evolutionary origins of radioresistance and their highly efficient DNA repair machinery. This organism produces an orange carotenoid-like pigment. Cell growth occurs between 11-41 degresss C, pH 5-9, and in the presence of <5% NaCl and <20% glucose. Carbohydrates and alcohols are primary growth substrates.