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Haemophilus ducreyi (Bacteria)
This bacterium causes the disease chancroid, which leads to painful ulcers but can be treated with antibiotics. The bacterium can be transmitted sexually, and researchers are investigating its role in facilitating the transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
» Sequenced
by: The Institute for Systems
Biology and Ohio State
University H. ducreyi 35000HP Unpublished
» Image: Courtesy
Bob Munson, Ohio State University |
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Haemophilus influenzae (Bacteria)
In 1995, this bacterium was the first organism to have its genome completely sequenced. The bacterium causes a potentially fatal illness that is now largely controlled in countries that vaccinate children. It was discovered during a flu pandemic in 1890 and mistakenly thought to be the cause.
» Sequenced
by: TIGR
H. influenzae Rd Abstract
» Related GNN Article: Sequencing the genome of Haemophilus influenzae Rd
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Halobacterium (Archaea)
Halobacteria are responsible for the bright pink or red appearance of the Dead Sea and other bodies of salt water. The organisms live in environments that have high concentrations of salt, including salt flats. They are also found on salted fish, salted hides, bacon, and sausage.
» Sequenced
by: University of Massachusetts/University
of Washington Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 Abstract
» Related
GNN article: Some like
it salty: Halobacterium genome sequenced
» Image:
Courtesy Tony Phillips |
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Helicobacter hepaticus (Bacteria)
In 1992, this bacterium caused an epidemic of liver tumors in laboratory mice at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. It also causes chronic hepatitis in mice and is related to the bacterium that can cause ulcers and stomach cancer in people, Helicobacter pylori.
» Sequenced
by: MWG
The Genomic Company, Universität
Würzberg, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology & Genedata
H. hepaticus ATCC 51449 Abstract
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Helicobacter pylori (Bacteria)
More than half of the world's population is infected with this bacterium. Many of these people will never experience any symptoms related to the infection, but the organism is a leading cause of ulcers and a risk factor for stomach cancer. It can remain in the body for life.
» Sequenced
by: TIGR
H. pylori 26695 Abstract
AstraZeneca H. pylori J99 Abstract
» Related
GNN articles: Life on the
Inside: Surveying the diversity of H. pylori genomes in one
man’s stomach
Stomach
Bug
» Image:
Courtesy Torkel Wadström |
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Homo sapiens (Eukaryota)
Two Independent drafts of the human genome sequence were published simultaneously in 2001 by researchers at Celera Genomics in Rockville, Maryland, and the international Human Genome Project. Both groups reported that humans have about 35,000 genes, but today the estimate is closer to 25,000 genes.
» Sequenced
by: Celera Genomics Abstract
International
Human Genome Sequencing Consortium Abstract
» Related
GNN articles:
Humans
and Mice Together at Last: Scientists compare mouse chromosome 16
to the human genome
One Gene, Many Proteins:Ultimately it will be necessary to measure
mRNA in specific cell types to demonstrate the presence of a gene
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Kluyveromyces lactis (Eukaryota)
This yeast is commonly used in genetics research and could potentially be used to produce drug compounds. The organism was sequenced as part of a study that compared five species of yeast.
»
Sequenced in 2004 by Institut Pasteur and others K. lactis Abstract
» Image: Courtesy Linda Silveira, University of Redlands, California
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Kluyveromyces waltii (Eukaryota)
This yeast was sequenced to learn about the evolution of a related species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is used in laboratories around the world to study genetics and explore basic questions in biology.
» Sequenced
by: The Broad Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University Abstract
» Related
GNN article: Baker’s Yeast and Fungus Provide Clues to Evolution
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Lactobacillus johnsonii (Bacteria)
The food company Nestlé sequenced this bacterium, which lives in our intestines and may protect against harmful microbes. Nestlé puts the organism in a yogurt-like dairy product called LC1, which, according to the company, strengthens the body's natural defenses and keeps the bowel healthy.
» Sequenced
by: Nestlé Research Center L. johnsonii
NCC 533 Abstract
» Image
courtesy of the Nestlé Research Center |
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Lactobacillus plantarum (Bacteria)
This bacterium produces lactic acid and lives in many environments, including some foods, saliva, and the human gastrointestinal tract. Researchers are studying whether the microbe can be used to deliver vaccines and other therapeutic compounds to people.
» Sequenced
by: Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences
& Greenomics L. plantarum
WCFS1 Abstract
» Image:
Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences |
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Lactococcus lactis (Bacteria)
One of the most important microorganisms in the dairy industry, this bacterium produces lactic acid and is used to make cheeses, buttermilk and yogurt, among other products. In nature, the organism is found on some plants and in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals that eat those plants.
» Sequenced
by: Genoscope
& INRA L. lactis
ssp. lactis IL1403 Abstract
» Related
GNN article: French
scientists sequence the genome of a bacterium vital for cheese production
» Image:
Courtesy Kim Holmstrøm |
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Legionella pneumophila (Bacteria)
The name of this bacterium and an illness it causes, Legionnaires’ disease, honors 29 people who died from an outbreak of fatal pneumonia at an American Legion convention in 1976. The bacterium lives in water all over the world, including drinking water, and can survive harsh chemicals that kill other microbes. Most people are resistant to infection.
» L. pneumophila Philadelphia 1 sequenced in 2004 by Columbia Genome Center
» L. pneumophila Paris sequenced in 2004 by Institut Pasteur
» L. pneumophila Lens sequenced in 2004 by Institut Pasteur
» Image:
Christopher Pericone. |
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Leifsonia xyli (Bacteria)
This bacterium infects sugarcane and causes ratoon stunting disease, which destroys fifteen percent of the world’s crop. The insidious disease is hard to diagnose, and farmers may not know their fields are infected. The bacteria can travel among fields on sugarcane knives and harvesting machines.
» L. xyli subspecies xyli sequenced in 2004 by FAPESP
» Image:
P.R. Gagliardi and E. Kitajima, University of Sao Paulo School of Agriculture. |
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Leptospira interrogans (Bacteria)
Most common in tropical areas, this spiral-shaped bacterium propels itself by twisting back and forth. It infects animals, and people can become infected through contact with animal urine or contaminated soil or water. Infection can cause mild symptoms or a more serious disease known as leptospirosis.
» Sequenced
by: Chinese National Human Genome
Center L. interrogans serovar lai 56601 Abstract
» Image:
CDC/NCID/HIP/Janice Carr. |
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Listeria innocua (Bacteria)
A harmless cousin of the bacterium that contaminates food and causes listeriosis, this organism was sequenced to learn about its lethal relative, Listeria monocytogenes. Both species can survive a range of environmental conditions, including high concentrations of salt.
» Sequenced
by: Institut Pasteur
& NCBI L. innocua
Clip11262 Abstract
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Listeria monocytogenes (Bacteria)
This bacterium contaminates food and can cause the disease listeriosis. Pasteurization and cooking kill the microbe, but some fatal cases of listeriosis have occurred because foods such as deli meats were contaminated after they were cooked but before they were packaged.
» Sequenced
by: EC Consortium
& NCBI L. monocytogenes
EGD-e Abstract
» Sequenced
by: TIGR L. monocytogenes
F2365 Abstract
» Related
GNN articles: Listeria
genome sequence as basis for improving food safety
Genetic
code for Listeria bacterium discovered
» Image:
Courtesy Dirk Heinz |
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Magnaporthe grisea
(Eukaryota)
This fungus causes blast disease in rice, which destroys enough crops to feed 60 million people annually. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the fungus a potential biological weapon because of the damage it could do to one of the world's staples.
» Sequenced
by: International Rice Blast Genome
Consortium & Whitehead
Institute for Genome Research M. grisea
Press release
» Related
GNN article:
Fighting blast disease: Rice pathogen sequenced
» Image:
Courtesy Richard J. Howard, DuPont Crop Genetics, Wilmington, Delaware.
With permission, from the Annual Review of Microbiology, Volume
50 ©1996 by Annual Reviews
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Mannheimia succiniciproducens (Bacteria)
This bacterium lives inside the stomachs of cows and helps them digest grasses. It also produces a chemical used in the manufacturing of plastics and other products. Some scientists think that the organism could one day produce the chemical, called succinic acid, for manufacturers.
» M. succiniciproducens MBEL55E sequenced in 2004 by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Abstract
» Image:
Keith Weller. Courtesy Agricultural Resesearch Service. |
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Mesoplasma florum (Bacteria)
This bacterium has very few genes and was sequenced as part of a project on synthetic microbes at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT. Scientists there are trying to create synthetic organisms that might someday be used to manufacture drugs or produce hydrogen for energy.
» Sequenced in 2004 by Broad Institute
» Image:
Courtesy Tom Knight, MIT |
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Mesorhizobium loti (Bacteria)
This microbe belongs to a family of bacteria that helps plants by converting nitrogen from the atmosphere into ammonia that can be used by the plants, including crops such as soybeans and peas. The conversion takes place inside nodules on the roots of the plants.
» Sequenced
by: Kazusa DNA Research Institute
M. loti MAFF303099
Abstract
» Image:
Courtesy Kazuhiko Saeki |
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Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum
(Archaea)
Found in sewage and other places, this microbe can convert human and agricultural waste into methane, and it survives relatively high temperatures. The sequenced strain was isolated from a municipal waste-treatment facility in Champaign, Illinois.
» Sequenced
by: Genome Therapeutics &
Ohio
State University M. thermoautotrophicum delta H Abstract
» Related
GNN article: Methane-producing
microbes dominate in hot spring
» Image:
Courtesy Charles Hagedorn. |
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Methanococcoides burtonii (Archaea)
This microbe is named for the Australian scientist Harry Burton, who discovered it at the bottom of Ace Lake in Antarctica. As one of the first species of archaea isolated in a permanently cold place and sequenced, it could help scientists understand how life exists in extreme environments.
» Sequenced
by: Joint Genome Institute
M. burtonii Abstract
» Related
GNN article: Extremophiles,
Antarctica, and Extraterrestrial Life
» Image:
Courtesy M.Rohde, GBF, Braunschweig, Germany |
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Methanococcus jannaschii
(Archaea)
Discovered near a hydrothermal vent off the coast of Mexico in 1982, this microbe was the first “extremophile” to be sequenced. Temperatures at these vents approach the boiling point of water, and the pressure could crush an ordinary submarine.
» Sequenced
by: TIGR
M. jannaschii DSM 2661 Abstract
» Related
GNN article: The
First Sequenced Extremophile: What scientists have learned from the
M. jannaschii genome
» Image:
© UC Berkeley
Electron Microscope Lab |
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Methanococcus maripaludis
(Archaea)
This microbe lives in salt marshes on the coast of Georgia and other places, where it produces methane. Able to grow in the laboratory, the organism is used to study methane-producing microbes, or methanogens. The name maripaludis comes from the Latin for “sea” and “marsh.”
» Sequenced
by: University of Washington Genome Center
» Image: Courtesy B. Whitman/University of Georgia
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Methanogenium frigidum (Archaea)
In the Vestfold Hills of Antarctica, this microbe was found living at the bottom of Ace Lake, where there is no oxygen or sunlight and the temperature is about O°C (33°F). The organism also lives in deep-sea trenches, and it produces methane.
» Sequenced
by: Australian Genome Research Facility
& Amersham
Biosciences M. frigidum Abstract
» Related
GNN article: Extremophiles,
Antarctica, and Extraterrestrial Life
» Image:
Courtesy Henry Aldrich, University of Florida |
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Methanopyrus kandleri (Archaea)
One of the most heat-tolerant organisms known, this microbe lives at temperatures near the boiling point of water. It was originally isolated from the ocean floor at the base of a “black smoker” chimney in the Gulf of California.
» Sequenced
by: Fidelity Systems, Inc.
M. kandleri AV19 Abstract
» Related
GNN article: The
genome of the hyperthermophile Methanopyrus kandleri
» Image:
Courtesy K.O. Stetter, R. Huber & R. Rachel, University of Regensburg,
Germany |
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Methanosarcina acetivorans
(Archaea)
A potential player in global warming, this microbe breaks down the waste products of other organisms and releases methane gas into the atmosphere. It may be the most versatile methane-producing microbe and subsists on diverse sources of energy, including acetate.
» Sequenced
by: Whitehead Institute
M. acetivorans C2A Abstract
» Related
GNN article: Key
player in global warming: M. acetivorans is sequenced
» Image:
Courtesy Everly Conway de Macario |
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Methanosarcina mazei (Archaea)
Found in soil and rice paddies, among other places, this microbe produces methane and may have picked up genes from bacteria over the course of evolution.
» Sequenced
by: Göttingen Genomics
Laboratory M. mazei Goe1 Abstract
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Methylococcus capsulatus (Bacteria)
Found in soil and peat bogs, this bacterium consumes methane gas for energy. Scientists are investigating whether this bacterium could someday be used to reduce methane emissions and thereby reduce greenhouse gases.
» M. capsulatus Bath sequenced in 2004 by TIGR Abstract
» Image:
Courtesy TIGR |
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Mus musculus (Eukaryota)
Used in the laboratory for decades to study biology and human genetics, mice have versions of nearly every human gene. Many genes in mice reside in blocks that correspond to blocks in the human genome, and the DNA sequences within corresponding blocks tend to be similar.
» Sequenced
by: International
Consortium M. musculus Abstract
» Related
GNN articles: Mouse
in the House: Scientists compare mouse and human genomes
Humans
and Mice Together at Last: Scientists compare mouse chromosome 16
to the human genome |
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Mycobacterium bovis (Bacteria)
One of the greatest threats to agriculture worldwide, this bacterium causes tuberculosis in cattle and other animals, including buffalo, lions, and antelope. Its genome is very similar to that of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis in people, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
» Sequenced
by: Sanger Institute
& Institut Pasteur
M. bovis AF2122/97 Abstract
» Image:
Courtesy Jack Dykinga/USDA |
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Mycobacterium leprae (Bacteria)
The bacterium that causes leprosy reproduces very slowly—it takes nearly two weeks for a cell to divide—and will only grow in certain environments. For the genome project, researchers grew the bacteria in an armadillo and harvested the microbe’s DNA for sequencing.
» Sequenced
by: Sanger Institute M.
leprae TN Abstract
» Related
GNN article: Genome of bacterium
that causes leprosy is sequenced
» Image:
Courtesy Heinz Kutzner, Dermatologie
Pathologie |
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Mycobacterium paratuberculosis
(Bacteria)
This bacterium lives in the intestines of cows and other hoofed animals. It can lie dormant in cows for years and spread to other animals through contaminated milk or manure, eventually causing a fatal illness called Johne’s disease.
» Sequenced
by: University of Minnesota
& USDA's National Animal Disease
Center M. paratuberculosis K-10 Unpublished
» Related
GNN article: Mapping
the genome of a cattle killer
»
Image: Courtesy Johne's Testing Center, School
of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
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Mycobacterium tuberculosis
(Bacteria)
Over the course of human history the bacterium that causes tuberculosis has killed millions. The microbe has been found in the tissues of ancient mummies, and in recent decades strains that are resistant to drugs have emerged. One person in three worldwide carries the bacterium in its latent form.
» Sequenced
by: TIGR
M. tuberculosis CDC 1551 Abstract
Sanger Institute M. tuberculosis
H37Rv (lab strain) Abstract
» Related
GNN article: Fighting tuberculosis
one gene at a time
» Image:
© 2000, International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care
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Mycoplasma gallisepticum
(Bacteria)
A major health problems for the poultry industry, this bacterium causes a chronic respiratory disease in chickens and other fowl. The disease affects the production of eggs and can spread quickly through an entire flock.
» Sequenced
by: University of Connecticut
M. gallisepticum R In Press
» Related
GNN article: The Stuff That Finches are Made of
» Image: Courtesy
Keith Weller/USDA |
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Mycoplasma genitalium (Bacteria)
This bacterium infects the male and female reproductive tracts and in 1995 became only the second organism to have its genome completely sequenced. It has about 500 genes and belongs to the family of Mycoplasma bacteria, which includes parasites that have very small genomes.
» Sequenced
by: TIGR
M. genitalium G-37 Abstract
» Image: Courtesy K. Frantz, A. Albay and K. Bott, University of North Carolina
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Mycoplasma mobile (Bacteria)
Known for its ability to glide across surfaces, this bacterium was isolated from a fresh-water fish called the tench. Like other species of Mycoplasma bacteria, it has relatively few genes and was sequenced in part to learn more about how an organism can live with so few genes.
» Sequenced in 2004 by Broad Institute
» Image: Courtesy Renate Rosengarten, University of Veterinary Medicine of Vienna, Austria |
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Mycoplasma mycoides(Bacteria)
This bacterium causes a highly contagious respiratory disease that is a leading killer of cattle in Africa. The disease, known as BCPP, is also a problem in Asia and has occurred in Southern Europe, making it a global threat to cattle. The bacterium also infects buffalo.
» Sequenced
by: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC Type Strain PGI (T) Abstract
» Image:
Courtesy F. Thiaucourt, CIRAD-EMVT |
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Mycoplasma penetrans (Bacteria)
During the 1990s this bacterium was primarily found among individuals infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. But it now appears that the bacterium can cause infections of the urogenital and respiratory tracts among individuals who are not carriers of HIV.
» Sequenced
by: NIID &
Kitasato University M. penetrans HF-2 Abstract
» Image:
Courtesy Yuko Sasaki |
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Mycoplasma pneumoniae
(Bacteria)
This bacterium infects the human respiratory tract and causes pneumonia-like symptoms in some individuals. It has relatively few genes and is used by researchers to learn about how organisms with “minimal” genomes survive in the world.
» Sequenced
by: University of Heidelberg
M. pneumoniae M129 Abstract
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Mycoplasma pulmonis (Bacteria)
A cause of respiratory infections in mice and rats, this bacterium is used in the laboratory to study how respiratory infections occur. It belongs to the family of Mycoplasma bacteria, which are parasites that have small genomes and infect people and animals.
» Sequenced
by: Genoscope M. pulmonis
UAB CTIP Abstract
» Related
GNN article: Mycoplasma
pulmonis: The genome of a minimalist
» Image:
Courtesy
mycoplasma-experience |
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Nanoarchaeum equitans (Archaea)
Researchers discovered this microbe while looking through the microscope at a larger microbe they collected from an undersea vent near Iceland. The smaller organism, which has one of the smallest sequenced genomes, lives as a parasite on the larger one, called Ignicoccus. It also lives in hot springs at Yellowstone National Park in California.
» Sequenced
by: Diversa Corporation N.equitans Abstract
» Related
GNN article: Genome of Undersea Microbe Surfaces
» Image: Courtesy H. Huber, M. Hohn, R. Rachel & K.O. Stetter, University of Regensburg, Germany. |
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Neisseria meningitidis (Bacteria)
This bacterium infects the lining of the human spinal cord and the brain and can cause the disease meningitis. It can also cause life-threatening infections in blood. Two strains have been sequenced—one found in Sub-Saharan Africa, the other in Europe and the United States.
» Sequenced
by: TIGR
N. meningitidis strain MC58 (serogroup B) Abstract
Sanger Institute N. meningitidis
Z2491 (serogroup A) Abstract
» Related
GNN articles:
Learning
our ABCs: The bacteria that cause meningitis
Bacteria
use quick-switch genes to dodge host defenses
New
genome sequence focuses search for type B meningitis vaccine
» Image:
© Aventis Pasteur
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Neurospora crassa
(Eukaryota)
For more than sixty years scientists have used this fungus, a common bread mold, to explore basic questions in biology. Experiments done on this yeast in 1941 led to the theory that a single gene makes a single protein. The organism is now used to study circadian rhythms, among other things.
» Sequenced
by: Whitehead Institute Center for Genome Research
Abstract
» Related
GNN articles: Mighty
Mold is Sequenced
Neurospora
genome to be sequenced thanks to grant from National Science Foundation
» Image:
Courtesy Patrick C. Hickey, University of Edinburgh |
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Nitrosomonas europaea
(Bacteria)
A potential player in global warming, this bacterium produces a form of nitrogen used by plants and also breaks down some pollutants. It lives, among other places, in soil, sewage, and on the walls of buildings and the surfaces of monuments, especially in polluted urban areas.
» Sequenced
by: Joint Genome Institute N. europaea
OR74A
Abstract
»
Image: Courtesy Electron Microscopy Facility
at Oregon State University |
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Nocardia farcinica
(Bacteria)
This bacterium causes a rare but potentially fatal disease known as nocardiosis. The microbe infects the lungs and central nervous system of people and some animals. It lives in soil, and people typically become infected by inhaling the organism or through a cut on the skin.
» N. farcinica sequenced in 2004 by NIID, Japan, and Kitasato University
»
Image: Courtesy NIID
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