Query: NC_008260:1044440 Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2, complete genome
Lineage: Alcanivorax borkumensis; Alcanivorax; Alcanivoracaceae; Oceanospirillales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This bacterium was isolated from a seawater sediment sample in the North Sea. The species is able to use Mihagol-S (C14,15-n-alkanes) as a principal carbon source. Using n-alkanes as a sole carbon source causes the strains to produce extracellular and membrane-bound surface-active glucose lipids. Phenotypic analysis showed a restricted nutritional profile, high halotolerance, the absence of fermentative metabolism, and a low G+C content. This, in combination with a 16S phylogenetic study, allowed the placing of this organism into a new genus.
Subject: NC_008044:136844 Silicibacter sp. TM1040, complete genome
Lineage: Ruegeria; Ruegeria; Rhodobacteraceae; Rhodobacterales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain was isolated from a culture of the dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida CCMP1830 which has been implicated in many large scale algal blooms resulting in increased mortality in fish. The bacteria are attached to the surface of the dinoflagellate and in some ways allow the dinoflagellate to grow as those lacking the bacteria die off. The bacterium also chemotaxes towards the dinoflagellate product DMSP (dimethylsulfoniopropionate) and metabolizes it. DMSP is a major source of sulfur in marine ecosystems and plays a role in the sulfur biogeochemical cycle. The implication is a tight association between these important dinoflagellates and this marine bacterium.