Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTP

Query: NC_017254:545236 Buchnera aphidicola str. JF98 (Acyrthosiphon pisum) chromosome,

Lineage: Buchnera aphidicola; Buchnera; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: It is believed that the Buchnera provide the essential nutrients the host lacks. Besides a nutritional co-dependence, due to a co-existence of millions of years, Buchnera have lost the ability to produce cell surface components such as lipopolysaccharides. This makes for an obligate endosymbiont relationship between host and Buchnera. Buchnera are prokaryotic cells which belong to the gamma-Proteobacteria, closely related to the Enterobacteriaceae family. Phylogenetic studies using 16S rRNA indicate that the symbiotic relationship was established around 200-250 million years ago. Since Buchnera are closely related to Escherichia coli and Haemophilus influenzae, comparative genomic studies can shed light on the evolutionary mechanisms of intracellular endosymbiosis as well as the different underlying molecular basis between organisms with parasitic behavior and symbionts.

Subject: NC_011059:2233993 Prosthecochloris aestuarii DSM 271, complete genome

Lineage: Prosthecochloris aestuarii; Prosthecochloris; Chlorobiaceae; Chlorobiales; Chlorobi; Bacteria

General Information: This species is a green sulfur bacterium which forms sedimentary biofilm layers. It has been shown to be associated with coral killed by Black-Band Disease (BBD) a microbial infection of larger coral species. This is a concern for reef conservationists as the larger species are responsible for coral scaffolds, and their reduction by disease would have considerable impact on the reef structure. While there is currently no cause-and-effect link between Prosthecochloris aestuarii and BBD, the species was found on coral which was killed by the disease and was not found on healthy coral or in the surrounding seawater.