Query: NC_009328:2161116 Geobacillus thermodenitrificans NG80-2 chromosome, complete genome
Lineage: Geobacillus thermodenitrificans; Geobacillus; Bacillaceae; Bacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: Geobacillus thermodenitrificans NG80-2 was isolated from oil reservoir formation water taken at a depth of 2000 m and a temperature of 73 degrees C. This strain can use crude oil as a sole carbon source and can degrade 16 to 36 carbon alkanes. Geobacillus thermodenitrificans NG80-2 produces an emulsifier which may be useful for high temperature biodegradation or other industrial purposes. Members of this genus were originally classified as Bacillus. Recent rDNA analysis and DNA-DNA hybridization studies using spore-forming thermophilic subsurface isolates provided enough evidence to define the phylogenetically distinct, physiologically and morphologically consistent taxon Geobacillus. Geobacillus species are chemo-organotrophic, obligately thermophilic, motile, spore-forming, aerobic or facultatively anaerobic.
Subject: NC_003155:5005913 Streptomyces avermitilis MA-4680, complete genome
Lineage: Streptomyces avermitilis; Streptomyces; Streptomycetaceae; Actinomycetales; Actinobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain (ATCC 31267) was isolated and characterized in 1978 by R. Burg and colleagues from a soil sample collected in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Antibiotic-producing bacterium. The characteristic earthy smell of freshly plowed soil is actually attributed to the aromatic terpenoid geosmin produced by species of Streptomyces. There are currently 364 known species of this genus, many of which are the most important industrial producers of antibiotics and other secondary metabolites of antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antitumor nature, as well as immunosuppressants, antihypercholesterolemics, etc. Streptomycetes are crucial in the soil environment because their diverse metabolism allows them to degrade the insoluble remains of other organisms, including recalcitrant compounds such as lignocelluloses and chitin. Streptomycetes produce both substrate and aerial mycelium. The latter shows characteristic modes of branching, and in the course of the streptomycete complex life cycle, these hyphae are partly transformed into chains of spores, which are often called conidia or arthrospores. An important feature in Streptomyces is the presence of type-I peptidoglycan in the cell walls that contains characteristic interpeptide glycine bridges. Another remarkable trait of streptomycetes is that they contain very large (~8 million base pairs which is about twice the size of most bacterial genomes) linear chromosomes with distinct telomeres. These rearrangements consist of the deletion of several hundred kilobases, often associated with the amplification of an adjacent sequence, and lead to metabolic diversity within the Streptomyces group. Sequencing of several strains of Streptomyces is aimed partly on understanding the mechanisms involved in these diversification processes. This organism is a well known producer of the anti-parasitic agent avermectin which is widely used to rid livestock of worm and insect infestations and to protect large numbers of people from river blindness in sub-Saharan Africa.