Query: NC_007948:360199 Polaromonas sp. JS666, complete genome
Lineage: Polaromonas; Polaromonas; Comamonadaceae; Burkholderiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain was isolated from sediment contaminated with cis-dichloroethane (cDCE), a common pollutant resulting from widespread manufacture and use of industrial solvents. This bacterium is the only known organism capable of using cDCE as a sole carbon and energy source. The ability of this strain to convert ethene to epoxyethane suggests that the first step in the cDCE biodegradation pathway is the oxidation of cDCE to an epoxide compound. Bacteria that are able to grow on cDCE are rare, and have only been found in very few highly selective artificial environments. The discovery of this bacteria may provide a low cost, self-sustaining bioremediation method in areas where cDCE is a problem contaminant.
Subject: NC_009138:1843998 Herminiimonas arsenicoxydans, complete genome
Lineage: Herminiimonas arsenicoxydans; Herminiimonas; Oxalobacteraceae; Burkholderiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Herminiimonas arsenicoxydans was isolated from heavy metal contaminated sludge from an industrial water treatment plant. This organism has a number of mechanisms for metabolizing arsenic allowing it to effectively colonize arsenic-contaminated environments. A bacterium capable of oxidizing and reducing arsenic. This heterotrophic bacterium is capable of reducing and oxidizing arsenic with the objective of detoxification. Arsenic is both a product from natural sources and of human activities, and is widely distributed in the environment, essentially in 3 different oxidation states: As (-III) (arsine), As (+III) (arsenite) and As (+V) (arseniate). The ecology of this metalloid is strongly dependent on microbial transformations which affect the mobility and bioavailability as well as the toxicity of arsenic in the environment.