Halobacterium sp NRC-1
Archaea are thought to be evolutionary relics, having branched from
a common ancestor of eukaryotes and eubacteria at a very early stage in evolution.
They include three physiological types inhabiting extreme environments, halophiles,
methanogens, and thermophiles, and some non-extremophilic varieties which have
been recently discovered. Thus far, genome projects have focused on only thermophilic
and methanogenic - but not halophilic - archaea.
-- Halophilic archaea flourish in extremely saline brine usually containing
3-5 M NaCl. Species representing eight different genera have been identified
which vary in morphology, salt and nutritional requirement, and natural habitat.
Several closely related Halobacterium species, recently reclassified
as strains of a single species, have been studied in greatest detail, and are
the most widely distributed in nature and the most halophilic. They generally
grow aerobically in amino acid-rich environments resulting from decomposition
of microorganisms which are unable to survive at the highest salinities in evaporitic
brine pools. In the laboratory, Halobacterium is easily cultured in either
complex medium or minimal medium containing several amino acids.
-- Halophilic archaea are distinguishable from halophilic eubacteria
and halophilic eukaryotes in their mechanism of osmoprotection. The archaeal
halophiles maintain an isoosmotic balance of KCl in the cell as opposed to eubacterial
and eukaryotic halophiles which generally accumulate an internal solute such
as glycine betaine or glycerol. Therefore, Halobacterium and other halophilic
archaea must have evolved a complete set of macromolecules which function at
5 M concentration of salts. Clearly, the high internal concentration of salts
in haloarchaea has profound consequences for macromolecular structure and function,
for example, by denaturing or salting out most non-halophilic proteins. Precipitation
of halophilic proteins is likely prevented by electrostatic repulsion from high
density-negative charges at the protein surfaces. The surface negative charges
also permit halophilic proteins to compete effectively for hydration and this
property allows them to function in solutions with low water activity. High
salt concentrations are also known to convert some DNA sequences, e.g. alternating
(CG)-repeats, from the right-handed to the left-handed Z form. Several regions
of the genome with potential for adopting Z-DNA conformation have recently been
cloned and one has been proposed to function in regulation of gene expression
in Halobacterium.
-- Halobacterium also contains intracellular gas vesicles which allow
cells to float. The gas vesicles consist of a lipid-free proteinaceous membrane
surrounding a gas-filled space. The membrane, which is composed of two major
proteins, GvpA and GvpC, is permeable to dissolved gases but impermeable to
water. Water is excluded by hydrophobic forces during the assembly process and
results in structures which are buoyant. These structures are extremely stable
and widely distributed in a variety of archaea and eubacteria. We have studied
the genetic requirements for gas vesicle formation in Halobacterium in
detail. A cluster of 13 or 14 Gvp genes on plasmid pNRC100 has been used to
complement mutants which are unable to float, and subjected to mutagenic analysis
to demonstrate their requirement for gas vesicle synthesis.
-- Under microaerobic conditions, the synthesis of purple membrane and gas vesicles
is induced, which promotes the flotation of Halobacterium cells to the
surface of liquid cultures. Flotation can increase the availability of light
and therefore proton pumping and photophosphorylation. Phototropic growth of
Halobacterium under high illumination and oxygen-limiting conditions
using bacteriorhodopsin has been demonstrated. An alternative mechanism of anaerobic
growth of Halobacterium is via substrate-level phosphorylation using
arginine.
-- Halophilic archaea are known to contain molecular features that are
distinctly eukaryotic, such as RNA polymerases, and transcriptional promoters
and factors as well as features that are eubacterial, such as gene and genome
organization. Although it is possible that halophiles evolved directly from
methanogens through adaptation to salt and loss of the methanogenic capabilities,
this remains to be shown. Moreover, phylogenetic analysis of EF-1a and glutamate
dehydrogenase sequences have resulted in proposals for alternate trees, e.g.
where halophiles branch with eubacteria rather than with other archaea. Since
the genomes of several methanogenic and thermophilic Archaeal species have already
been sequenced, a halophilic Archaeal genome will provide greater insight into
the phylogeny of prokaryotic microorganisms, and therefore deeper understanding
of evolution generally.
http://chroma.mbt.washington.edu/seq_www/halo.html
Helicobacter pylori (previously Campylobacter pyloridis) - associated with gastritis. http://freepages.pavilion.net/tetrix/helicobacter.html
Homo sapiens are humans.
Kluyveromyces marxianus is a thermotolerant yeast used in fermentation of molasses. http://www.multisimplex.com/dbase/353.htm
Legionella Bacteria species associated with infection - L. anisa,
L. birminghamensis, L. bozemanii, L. cincinnatiensis, L. dumoffii, L. feeleii,
L. gormanii, L. hackeliae, L. israelensis, L. jordanis, L. lansingensis, L.
longbeachae, L. maceachernii, L. micdadei, L. oakridgensis, L. pneumophila,
L. sainthelensi, L. tucsonensis, L. wadsworthii
Associated infections - legionaires' disease, Pontiac fever
Notes - infections caused by spp. other than L. pneumophila and L. micdadei
are seldom reported
Reference - Benson, R.F., Fields, B.S. (1998). Classification of the genus Legionella.
Semin. respir. Infect. 13, 90-99. http://freepages.pavilion.net/tetrix/legionella.html
Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by the parasites Leishmania
donovani donovani, Leishmania donovani infantum and Leishmania
donovani archibaldi in the old world and by Leishmania donovani chagasi in the
new world. In endemic cases of VL, the disease is chronic and onset is gradual.
Although people of all ages are susceptible in the old world, children below
the age of 15 are more commonly affected with L.d infantum being largely
responsible (Rab et al, 1995). In sporadic and epidemic cases of VL the disease
is usually acute and symptoms appear suddenly with people of all ages being
at risk except those who have conferred immunity due to a past infection.
--Various terms have been used to describe visceral leishmaniasis including
Dum-dum fever, Sikari disease, Burdwan fever, Shahib's disease and tropical
splenomegaly. However, the most commonly used term is Kala azar, which in Hindi
means black sickness or black fever. The terms originally referred to Indian
VL due to its characteristic symptoms, blackening or darkening of the skin of
the hands, feet, face and the abdomen (Lainson and Shaw, 1987). http://homepages.uel.ac.uk/D.P.Humber/akhter/dis.htm
Listeria Species associated with infection - L. ivanovii, L. monocytogenes. Associated infections - septicaemia, meningitis, intra-uterine infection, enteric infection Reported susceptibilities and therapies - ampicillin and gentamicin References - Hof, H., Nichterlein, T., Kretschmar, M. (1997). Management of listeriosis. Clin. microbiol. Rev. 10, 345-357. http://freepages.pavilion.net/tetrix/listeria.html
Many wild relatives of the tomato such as Lycopersicon
esculentum var. cerasiforme, L. chilense, L. peruvianum, L. hirsutum,
and L. pimpinellifolium are among the richest genetic pools available
for cross breeding. Almost all of the effective resistances to virulent tomato
diseases have been found from wild species of Lycopersicon and Solanum. Geneticists
from UC Davis have been making trips to the Andes and Central America in search
of new species since 1948. Since then, researchers have amassed a germplasm
stock effective against over 42 diseases. "Few other crops are blessed with
such extensive collections of wild forms and their derivatives." Not only are
these wild relatives valuable sources of genetic material for disease control
and prevention, but also for arthropod resistance, improving fruit quality,
abiotic stress tolerance, and drought/cold resistance among many others.
http://www-plb.ucdavis.edu/courses/plb105/Students/Tomato/Intro/ethno/davex.htm
Medicago sativa, Alfalfa, is a leguminous plant. It has been cultivated from ancient time, and is highly prized as a pasture and forage plant. http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/medicago.html; http://www.scisoc.org/ismpmi/common/names/alfalfa.htm
Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum is a well studied Archaeon that is ubiquitous in anaerobic environments, grows readily and rapidly under laboratory conditions, and from which in vitro methanogenic extracts and enzymes have been purified and studied for over 20 years. The organism is a moderate thermophile with an optimum growth temperature of 65 degrees, and is positioned near the `center' of the methanogen evolutionary tree. It is an `absolute' autotroph, requiring only CO2, H2 and salts for growth. http://jura.ebi.ac.uk:8765/ext-genequiz//genomes/mth0005/
Methanococcus jannaschii, a single-cell microorganism
known as an archaeon (meaning "ancient" in Greek). M. jannaschii is a
methane-producing thermophile discovered at the base of a Pacific Ocean thermal
vent. http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/archive/articles/methanoc.html
-- M. j. is a thermophilic (48-94 C), strict anaerobic Archaebacterium
which lives at pressures of over 200 atmospheres. It is an autotroph which gets
its energy from hydrogen and carbon dioxide producing methane and it is capable
of nitrogen fixation. Morphologically it is characterized by having two bundles
of flagella at the same cellular pole. The genome of M. jannaschii consists
of the main circular chromosome (1.6 Mb), and two circular extrachromosomal
elements (ECE), one large (58 Kb) and one small (16.5 Kb). http://jura.ebi.ac.uk:8765/ext-genequiz//genomes/mj/
Bult
et al. Science 273:1058-1073 (1996)
Neisseria meningitidis - associated with septicaemia,
meningitis, conjunctivitis, genital infection, epiglottitis - penicillin or
cefotaxime as therapeutic agents - rifampicin, ciprofloxacin or ceftriaxone
to clear carriage
Reference- Oppenheim, B.A. (1997). Antibiotic resistance in Neisseria meningitidis.
Clin. infect. Dis. 24(S1), 98-101 http://freepages.pavilion.net/tetrix/neisseria.html
Nicotiana tabacumis the most common source of smoking tobacco. http://leda.lycaeum.org/Taxonomy/Nicotiana_tabacum.301.shtml
Oncorhynchus mykiss is the fish, rainbow trout. This member of the salmonid family is also called steelhead, Kamloops trout, steelhead trout, and silver trout. http://www.gov.ns.ca/fish/inland/species/rain.htm
Oryza sativa is rice. http://cygnus.tamu.edu/Texlab/Grains/Rice/ricetop.html; http://www.scisoc.org/ismpmi/common/names/rice.htm
Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus 1 infects algae. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ICTVdb/ICTVdB/51011001.htm#Taxon; http://www.virology.net/Big_Virology/BVDNAphycodna.html
Pectobacterium carotovorum (or erwinia carotovorum) is
a plan pathogen bacteria in carrots, potatoes and mangos. Common Name: Blackleg
Disease reported in Italy, Greece and Turkey.
Description: Mainly affects the pluriannual crops. The parts of the affected
plants above the ground wilt and dry out progressively starting from the outermost
leaves. The root system and the collar are attacked by rot which first causes
browning of the pith and, in the end, decay of all the tissues: at this point
they emmanate a fetid smell. As the epidemic progresses plants die on certain
spots in the field and large "blanks" occur in the crop. http://www.scisoc.org/resource/common/names/carrot.htm;
http://www.smak.se/sos.htm ; http://www.inra.fr/Internet/Produits/HYP3/pathogene/6erwca2.htm;
http://www.hokkochem.co.jp/english/worldwid/kasum-II.html
Pectobacterium chrysanthemi (or erwinia chrysanthemi) is a plant pathogenic bacteria causing stalk and top rot (corn? tomato? carrot?). http://www.agron.missouri.edu/cgi-bin/sybgw_mdb/mdb3/Species/66796; http://www.isppweb.org/nppbp.htm
penicillium janthinellum is an imperfect mycelial fungus; a filamentous fungi. http://bssv01.lancs.ac.uk/StuWork/BIOS316/BIOS31600/Penpep/protein.htm
Phleum pratense is a major cool-season, short-lived perennial bunchgrass, valuable in cool humid regions for pasture, but most important for hay. Palatable and nutritious, probably the most important hay species in the United States, being more nutritious when cut in early bloom stage (Reed, 1976). The stem inhibits the growth of Sphacelia segetum (C.S.I.R., 19481976). Has been grown for the extraction of chlorophyll. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Phleum_pratense.html; image
Plasmid F, in prokaryotes, an extrachromosomal, independently replicating, small, circular DNA molecule. € Fertility plasmid € The 'F Factor' in E. coli € 25 genes € control the production of pili (long, rod shaped protein structures used in cell to cell contact called conjugation) F+ cells can transfer the F plasmid to F- cells ( cytoplasmic bridges) to make them F+ cells (thus able to produce pili) [PDF] www.horton.ednet.ns.ca/staff/selig/AP/labs/ch17.pdf
Plasmodium falciparum Compiled at EMBL-EBI, October 1999. Plasmodium falciparum is a protozoan parasite and the major cause of malaria in humans. Each year, malaria affects 300-500 million people wordwide, of which 1.5-2.7 million eventually die. The understanding of parasite biology and the identification of targets for vaccine and drug development depend upon unraveling the current complexity of the parasite life cycle. More info from the Plasmodium falciparum Genome Database P. falciparum chromosome 2 length: 947 kb. Reference: Gardner et al., Science, 282:1126-1132 (1998) http://jura.ebi.ac.uk:8765/ext-genequiz//genomes/pf9902/ , http://www.tigr.org/tdb/edb2/pfa1/htmls/
Use of a new bacteriodes/prevotella shuttle vctor to tranfer
a reconstructed B, 1,4 D endoglucanase gene into bacteriodes uniformis and PREVOTELLA
RUMINICOLA B14
Author(s): GARDNER RICHARD G, RUSSELL JAMES B,, WILSON DAVID B WANG GUI R, SHOEMAKER
NADJA B
Interpretive Summary: Ruminant farm animals (cattle, sheep, goats) lose
their capacity to digest cellulose, a major component of many animal feeds,
when the diets are high in starch. Starch causes a decrease in ruminal pH (an
increase in acidity) and cellulolytic (cellulose-digesting) bacteria cannot
tolerate even a modest decline in pH. We have undertaken a project to convert
an acid- resistant bacterium into one that can digest cellulose at low
pH. This project entails the conversion of an endoglucanase (a cellulolytic
enzyme that digests soluble cellulose efficiently, but which digests the native
cellulose found in plants either poorly or not at all) into a true cellulase.
This is being done by the addition of a "cellulose-binding domain" to the endoglucanase,
which would allow it bind to, and digest, native cellulose. This manuscript
describes a procedure for transferring the reconstructed gene back into the
cellulolytic ruminal bacterium. If this project is successful, we will be able
to re-inoculate the rumen with an acid-resistant cellulolytic bacterium and
increase the efficiency of cellulose digestion in animals that have low ruminal
pH. The net result would be to increase the efficiency with which ruminant produce
meat and milk. http://www.nal.usda.gov/ttic/tektran/data/000006/37/0000063701.html
Pseudomonas Medically significant bacteria species
currently included in Pseudomonas - P. aeruginosa, P. alcaligenes, P. chlororaphis,
P. fluorescens, P. luteola. P. mendocina, P. monteilii, P. oryzihabitans,
P. pertocinogena, P. pseudalcaligenes, P. putida, P. stutzeri. Reported infections
- bacteraemia, UTI, wound infection, abscesses, septic arthritis, conjunctivitis,
endocarditis, meningitis, CAPD peritonitis - nosocomial outbreaks reported -
nosocomial infections associated with invasive devices in debilitated patients
References - Pallerono, N.J. (1984). Family 1. Pseudomonadaceae. In Bergey's
manual of systematic bacteriology. Volume 1. Krieg, N.R., Holt, J.G. (eds.).
Williams & Willkins: Baltimore. -Woese, C.R. (1987). Bacterial evolution. Microbial
Rev. 51, 221-271. - Holmes, B., Steigerwalt, A.G., Weaver, R.E., Brenner, D.J.
(1987). Chryseomonas luteola comb. nov. and Flavimonas oryzihabitans gen. nov.
comb. nov. Pseudomonas-like species from human clinical specimens and formerly
known respectively as groups Ve-1 and Ve-2. Int. J. syst. Bact. 37, 245-250.
- Podbielski, A., Mertens, R., Ziebold, C., Kaufhold, A. (1990). Flavimonas
orizihabitans septicaemia in a T-cell leukaemic child: a case report and review
of the literature. J. infect. 20, 135-141. - Bendig, J.W.A., Mays, P.J., Eyers,
D.E., Holmes, B., Chin, T. (1989). Flavimonas orizihabitans (Pseudomonas oryzihabitans;
CDC group Ve-2): an emerging pathogen in peritonitis related to continuous ambulatory
peritoneal dialysis? J. clin. Microbiol. 27, 217-218. - Levett, P.N., Garrett,
D.A., Wickramasuriya, T. (1991). Flavimonas oryzihabitans as a cause of ocular
infection. Eur. J. clin. Microbiol. infect. Dis. 10, 594-595. http://freepages.pavilion.net/tetrix/pseudomonas.html
Eighty-five accessions of 33 species of Allium were screened for susceptibility to foliar bacterial soft rot caused by Pseudomonas marginalis (Brown 1918) Stevens 1925 and P. viridiflava (Burkholder 1930) Dowson 1939. Plants grown in a greenhouse were wounded then co-inoculated with cell suspensions of P. marginalis and P. viridiflava. Also infects Kiwi fruit and lettuce. http://www.rsnz.govt.nz/publish/nzjchs/1998/3.php; http://www.hokkochem.co.jp/english/worldwid/kasum-II.html
Rhizobium leguminosarum Bacteria of the genus Rhizobium play a very important role in agriculture by inducing nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots of legumes such as peas, beans, clover and alfalfa. This symbiosis can relieve the requirements for added nitrogenous fertilizer during the growth of leguminous crops. The Rhizobium group is studying the bacterial and legume genes involved in establishing and maintaining the symbiosis. This will provide background knowledge for use in applied objectives as well as yielding a wealth of fundamental knowledge with wide implications. Underpinning the work is a continuing investigation of the bacterial and plant genes specifically induced during the symbiosis. The communications that occur between the plant and the rhizobia during nodule formation and maintenance constitutes a novel opportunity to study signal transduction in a plant system. The expression of "nodulation" genes in the bacteria is activated by signals from plant roots and as a result the bacteria synthesise signals that induce a nodule meristem and enable the bacteria to enter this meristem via a plant-made infection thread. The chemical signals synhesised by the bacteria are based on a modified amino acid (homoserine lactone) carrying a variable acyl chain substituent, and are called acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs). By detecting and reacting to these chemicals, individual cells can sense how many cells surround them, and whether there are enough bacteria, i.e. a quorum, to initiate the change towards acting in a multicellular fashion. This is known as 'quorum sensing' and this laboratory is coordinating an EU Consortium on 'Rhizosphere Communication' to investigate the extent to which specific plant-growth-promoting bacteria use AHL-based quorum sensing regulation of important physiological traits, and the degree of cross-talk with plant pathogens. http://www.jic.bbsrc.ac.uk/hosting/microbes/Rhizo.html
Rickettsia Bacteria species associated with infection - R. africae,
R. akari, R. australis, R. conorii, R. felis, R. honei, R. japonica,
"R. mongolotimonae," R. prowazekii, R. rickettsiae, R. sibirica,
R. slovaca, R. typhi Associated infections - rickettsial spotted fever, tick
typhus, tick bite fever, rickettsial pox.
Notes - transmitted by arthropods - agents of Astrakhan fever, Israeli tick
typhus and Thai tick typhus await designation of scientific names - for R. tsutsugamushi
see Orientia -
References - Xu, W., Raoult, D. (1998). Taxonomic relationships among spotted
fever group rickettsiae as revealed by antigenic analysis with monoclonal antibodies.
J. clin. Microbiol. 36, 887-896. http://freepages.pavilion.net/tetrix/rickettsia.html
Schizosaccharomyces pombe (fission "yeast") is a member of the archiascomycetes, believed to belong to an ancestral assembly of the ascomycetes. S.pombe is almost as easily cultured and manipulated as yeast, it is well characterized as to classical and molecular genetics, its nuclear genome is being sequenced, and it will likely turn out to be an alternative fungal model system, comparable to that of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. http://megasun.bch.umontreal.ca/People/lang/species/spo/spogeneral.html
Sphingomonas Bacteria species associated with infections - septicaemia,
UTI, wound infections, CAPD peritonitis - nosocomial infections - S. parapaucimobilis,
S. paucimobilis (previously Pseudomonas paucimobilis), S. sanguis, S. yanoikuyae
References - Southern, P.M., Kutscher, A.E. (1981). Pseudomonas paucimobilis
bacteremia. J. clin. Microbiol. 13, 1070-1073. http://freepages.pavilion.net/tetrix/sphingomonas.html
Streptomyces coelicolor
Streptomycetes are Gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacteria with
a complex life cycle. They are known to be the main source of natural products
with relevant applications to medicine and agriculture. These compounds are
classified as secondary metabolites and are produced in nature by many plants
and micro-organisms through a secondary level of metabolism. Industrially, several
products derived from Streptomyces cultures have been exploited by the
fermentation industry (e.g. antibiotics, therapeutic agents and pesticides).
Furthermore, the secondary metabolism has its own biological relevance. Despite
the broad occurrence in nature of secondary metabolites, they seem to be superfluous
to the metabolic activities that allow a micro-organism to grow and multiply.
Thus, elucidating their biological role in Streptomyces has become a
fascinating and intriguing scientific challenge, which can only be achieved
through a multidisciplinary approach involving biologists and chemists.
The Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) strain
Within the Streptomyces genus, the strain S. coelicolor A3(2) has consolidated
as the model system for carrying on biochemical, genetic and physiological studies.
This strain is the streptomycete genetically best characterized (see S. coelicolor
A3(2) genome project) and for the last four decades has been meticulously
studied by researchers from all over the world, but mainly from those at the
John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK (Hopwood, 1999). Furthermore, it produces at
least four different secondary metabolites with antibiotic activities representative
of major families of natural products and some of them have technical advantages,
i.e. Pigmentation and plasmid determination (Hopwood et al., 1995). These compounds
are the blue pigmented polyketide actinorhodin, the red pigmented undecylprodigiosin,
the SCP1 determined methylenomycin and the calcium dependent antibiotic (CDA).
The biosynthesis of these four antibiotics shows examples of molecular regulation
at different levels, including pathway-specific regulation, pleiotropic control
of more than one antibiotic, and co-regulation of antibiotic production and
morphological development (Chater and Bibb, 1997). Although none of these antibiotics
are of commercial importance, the secondary metabolites diversity produced by
S. coelicolor A3(2) and their specific biosynthetic pathway features, as
well as the genetic tools and resources available for it, make of this strain
a suitable biological system for the study of secondary metabolism in Streptomyces.
http://www.bio.warwick.ac.uk/hodgson/strep/intro.html
Synechocystis sp. (Compiled at EMBL-EBI, September 1997). S. sp. is a unicellular cyanobacterium, photoautotrophic and facultative glucose-heterotrophic. Cyanobacteria are oxygenic photosynthetic procaryotes with two photosystems like algae and plants and they can fix nitrogen. More info from NCBI Genome length: 3.57 Mb References: Kaneko, T. et al., DNA Res. 3:109-136 (1996); Kaneko, T. et al., DNA Res. 3:185-209 (1996) http://jura.ebi.ac.uk:8765/ext-genequiz//genomes/cy9709/
Thermotoga maritima, a rod-shaped bacterium belonging to the
order Thermotogales, was originally isolated from geothermal heated marine sediment
at Vulcano, Italy. The organism has an optimum growth temperature of 80 degrees
C. T. maritima metabolizes many simple and complex carbohydrates including
glucose, sucrose, starch, cellulose, and xylan. Through conversion to fuels
such as hydrogen, both cellulose and xylan have great potential as renewable
carbon and energy sources. T. maritima is also of evolutionary significance,
because small-subunit ribosomal RNA phylogeny has placed this bacterium as one
of the deepest and most slowly evolving lineages in the Eubacteria.
The genome of T. maritima MSB8 is a single circular chromosome consisting
of 1,860,725 base pairs with an average G+C content of 46%. The genome contains
1,877 prediced coding regions, of which 1014 (54%) have functional assignments,
and 863 (46%) are of unknown function. Genome analysis reveals numerous pathways
involved in the degradation of sugars and plant polysaccharides, and 108 genes
that have orthologues only in the genomes of other thermophilic Eubacteria and
Archaea. Completion of the T. maritima genome has revealed a degree of
similarity with the Archaea in terms of gene content and overall genome organization
that was not previously appreciated. Although the core of T. maritima may be
eubacterial, almost one quarter of the genome is archaeal in nature. Eighty-one
archaeal-like genes are clustered in 15 regions of the T. maritima genome that
range in size from 4 to 20 kilobases. Conservation of gene order between T.
maritima and the Archaea in many of the clustered regions suggests that
lateral gene transfer may have occurred between thermophilic Eubacteria and
Archaea. Last modified on: July 06, 1999 http://www.tigr.org/tdb/CMR/btm/htmls/Background.html
Trypanosoma brucei
1.Taxonomic classification Mastigophorid (flagellated) protozoan. Salivarian
group (anterior station) Trypanosomatids: T. bruce,i T. rhodesiense, T. gambiense,
African trypanosomiasis
2.Definitive host spectrum T. brucei - horses, cattle, sheep, antelope, dogs,
cats, laboratory animals T. rhodesiense - humans, antelope T. gambiense - humans
and swine
3.Intermediate host (vector) Glossina spp., tsetse fly: riverine and savannah
types (biological transmission)
4.Geographic distribution Dependent on the breeding places of the tsetse spp.
responsible for transmission (biological development) of each Trypanosoma sp.:
Riverine - T. gambiense ; savannah - T. rhodesiense ; any - T. brucei Principally
central Africa: T. brucei - 15 o N to 25 o S (Africa): central belt from the
Atlantic to the Indian Ocean coasts and from the sub-Sahara to the northern
border of S. Africa (cf Covenant by James Michener) http://web.missouri.edu/~vmicrorc/Protozoa/Mastigophorans/Tbrucei.htm
Trypanosoma cruzi is a flagellate of the Kinetoplastida Order,
Family Trypanosomatidae, characterized by the presence of one flagellum and
a single mitochondrion in which is situated the Kinetoplast, a specialized DNA-containing
organelle. The identification of this parasite by morphological and biological
features does not offer difficulties and differential is only required for Trypanosoma
rangeli, a non-pathogenic flagellate which infects humans in some areas of Central
and South America and is transmitted by some of the same vectors that transmit
T. cruzi.
By: Zigman Brener (in: Chagas Disease - American Trypanosomiasis: its impact
on transfusion and clinical medicine. S. Wendel, Z. Brener, M.E. Camargo, A.
Rassi (Edt.). ISBT BRAZIL'92, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL). http://www.dbbm.fiocruz.br/tropical/chagas/chapter3.html
Tupaia adenovirus 1 is the adenovirus of a tree shrew.
Vibrio cholerae - Bacteria which is the agent of cholera - rehydration and tetracycline are used for treatment http://freepages.pavilion.net/tetrix/vibrio.html
Xanthomonas campestris is a bacteria which has been reported
to cause bacteraemia.
Reference - Li, Z.X., Bian, Z.S., Zheng, H.P., Yue, Y.S., Yao, J.Y., Gong, Y.P.,
Cai, M.Y., Dong, X.Z. (1990). First isolation of Xanthomonas campestris from
the blood of a Chinese woman. Chin. med. J. 103, 435-439. http://freepages.pavilion.net/tetrix/xanthomonas.html