Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTP

Query: NC_017154:478000 Yersinia pestis D106004 chromosome, complete genome

Lineage: Yersinia pestis; Yersinia; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: Specific virulence factors are encoded within pathogenicity islands (PAIs) that are required for the invasive phenotype associated with Yersinia infections. One key virulence plasmid contained by the three human-specific pathogens is pCD1/pYv, which encodes a type III secretion system for the delivery of virulence proteins that contribute to internalization into the host cell. It is the causative agent of plague (bubonic and pulmonary) a devastating disease which has killed millions worldwide. The organism can be transmitted from rats to humans through the bite of an infected flea or from human-to-human through the air during widespread infection. Yersinia pestis is an extremely pathogenic organism that requires very few numbers in order to cause disease, and is often lethal if left untreated. The organism is enteroinvasive, and can survive and propagate in macrophages prior to spreading systemically throughout the host. Yersinia pestis also contains a PAI on the chromosome that is similar to the SPI-2 PAI from Salmonella that allows intracellular survival in the organism.

Subject: NC_011186:819828 Vibrio fischeri MJ11 chromosome II, complete sequence

Lineage: Aliivibrio fischeri; Aliivibrio; Vibrionaceae; Vibrionales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This strain was isolated from a pinecone fish, Monocentris japonica, light-emitting organs in Japan. This genus is abundant in marine or freshwater environments such as estuaries, brackish ponds, or coastal areas; regions that provide an important reservoir for the organism in between outbreaks of the disease. Vibrio can affect shellfish, finfish, and other marine animals and a number of species are pathogenic for humans. This organism is found in marine environments and was originally named by Bernard Fischer during a sea voyage in the 1800s. It is a symbiont in fish and squids and is responsible for light generation in those organisms, which use it as a defense mechanism to avoid predators.