Query: NC_017066:33268 Rickettsia typhi str. TH1527 chromosome, complete genome
Lineage: Rickettsia typhi; Rickettsia; Rickettsiaceae; Rickettsiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This genus, like other Rickettsial organisms such as Neorickettsia and Anaplasma, is composed of obligate intracellular pathogens. 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. Transovarial transmission (from mother to offspring) occurs in the invertebrate host. This organism causes murine typhus and is an obligate intracellular pathogen that infects both the flea vector and hosts such as human, rat, and mouse. R. prowazekii, and genomic comparisons demonstrate colinearity and similarity to the genome of that organism except for two independent inversions near the origin and terminus. In the flea vector, the bacterium penetrates the gut epithelial barrier and is found in the feces which become infective.
Subject: NC_015709:1459838 Zymomonas mobilis subsp. pomaceae ATCC 29192 chromosome, complete
Lineage: Zymomonas mobilis; Zymomonas; Sphingomonadaceae; Sphingomonadales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Country: United Kingdom; Isolation: Sick cider; Temp: Mesophile. The natural habitat of this organism includes sugar-rich plant saps where the bacterium ferments sugar to ethanol. The high conversion of sugars to ethanol makes this organism useful in industrial production systems, particularly in production of bioethanol for fuel. A recombinant strain of this bacterium is utilized for the conversion of sugars, particularly xylose, which is not utilized by another common sugar-fermenting organism such as yeast, to ethanol. Since xylose is a common breakdown product of cellulose or a waste component of the agricultural industry, it is an attractive source for ethanol production. Zymomonas mobilis was chosen for this process as it is ethanol-tolerant (up to 120 grams of ethanol per litre) and productive (5-10% more ethanol than Saccharomyces). This bacterium ferments using the Enter-Doudoroff pathway, with the result that less carbon is used in cellular biomass production and more ends up as ethanol, another factor that favors this organism for ethanol production.