Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTP

Query: NC_017154:520400 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_006349:400807 Burkholderia mallei ATCC 23344 chromosome 2, complete sequence

Lineage: Burkholderia mallei; Burkholderia; Burkholderiaceae; Burkholderiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This type strain came from a Chinese patient in Burma who had glanders in 1944. Causes glanders in horses. This organism is rarely associated with human infection, and is more commonly seen in domesticated animals such as horses, donkeys, and mules where it causes glanders, a disease first described by Aristotle. The pathogen is host-adapted and is not found in the environment outside of its host. Rapid-onset pneumonia, bacteremia (spread of the organism through the blood), pustules, and death are common outcomes during infection. No vaccine exists for this potentially dangerous organism.