Rickettsia prowazekii str. Madrid E

Rickettsia_prowazekii
Names Rickettsia prowazekii str. Madrid E
Accession numbers NC_000963
Background Rickettsia prowazekii is an obligate intracellular Gram negative parasite. It is the causative agent of epidemic typhus which infected 20-30 million people in the wake of the First World War and killed another few million following the Second World War. The plague of Athens in 430 BC was probably a typhus epidemic, and three million Europeans and Russians died from typhus between 1918 and 1922.Because it is the descendant of free-living organisms R. prowazekii is of interest as being possibly the closest extant relative of the ancestor to mitochondria. As an intracellular parasite in eukaryotic cells, the Rickettsia genome, like that of mitochondria, shows the effects of the evolutionary forces reducing its complexity and insight into adaptations of the obligate intracellular lifestyle.The bacterium is named after two typhus researchers who died of the disease in the early 20th century, H.T. Ricketts and S.J.M. Prowazek.(From http://www.ebi.ac.uk/2can/genomes/bacteria.html) (BacMap)
Taxonomy
Kingdom:Bacteria
Phylum:Proteobacteria
Class:Alphaproteobacteria
Order:Rickettsiales
Family:Rickettsiaceae
Genus:Rickettsia
Species:prowazekii
Strain Madrid E
Complete Yes
Sequencing centre (11-NOV-1998) S.G.E. Andersson, Siv.Andersson@molbio.uu.se, Dept. of Molecular Biology, University
(13-SEP-2001) National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
Sequencing quality Level 6: Finished
Sequencing depth NA
Sequencing method NA
Isolation site Typhus patient in Madrid
Isolation country Spain
Number of replicons 1
Gram staining properties Negative
Shape Bacilli
Mobility No
Flagellar presence No
Number of membranes 2
Oxygen requirements Aerobic
Optimal temperature NA
Temperature range Mesophilic
Habitat HostAssociated
Biotic relationship Symbiotic
Host name Homo sapiens
Cell arrangement NA
Sporulation Nonsporulating
Metabolism NA
Energy source NA
Diseases Louse-borne typhus, Mediterranean spotted fever, epidemic typhus
Pathogenicity Yes