PATRIC: The VBI PathoSystems Resource Integration Center

Snyder, E. E.; Kampanya, N.; Lu, J.; Nordberg, E. K.; Karur, H. R.; Shukla, M.; Soneja, J.; Tian, Y.; Xue, T.; Yoo, H.; Zhang, F.; Dharmanolla, C.; Dongre, N. V.; Gillespie, J. J.; Hamelius, J.; Hance, M.; Huntington, K. I.; Jukneliene, D.; Koziski, J.; Mackasmiel, L.; Mane, S. P.; Nguyen, V.; Purkayastha, A.; Shallom, J.; Yu, G.; Guo, Y.; Gabbard, J.; Hix, D.; Azad, A. F.; Baker, S. C.; Boyle, S. M.; Khudyakov, Y.; Meng, X. J.; Rupprecht, C.; Vinje, J.; Crasta, O. R.; Czar, M. J.; Dickerman, A.; Eckart, J. D.; Kenyon, R.; Will, R.; Setubal, J. C.; Sobral, B. W. S.

PATRIC is responsible for the eight organism categories listed in Table 1 . The three genera of proteobacteria are all intracellular pathogens that are known or potential biowarfare agents. In the 1950s, Brucella suis was the first infectious agent developed for use as a biowarfare agent by the United States. Brucellosis, caused by Brucella sp., is an important agricultural disease infecting cattle, sheep, goats and swine as well as humans. It is highly contagious and readily dispersed as an aerosol (8) . Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, is a highly infectious agent of relatively low lethality. Its interest as a biowarfare agent stems from its high infectivity, stability to heat and desiccation and potential for aerosol dispersal. The genus Rickettsia contains the organisms responsible for numerous types of typhus and arthropod-borne spotted fevers (9, 10) . Rickettsia prowazekii was developed as a bioweapon by the USSR in the 1930s and was used by the Japanese in Manchuria during World War II (11) .