Query: NC_009328:293000 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_006322:4149500 Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580, complete genome
Lineage: Bacillus licheniformis; Bacillus; Bacillaceae; Bacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: Industrially important bacterium. Under starvation conditions this group of bacteria initiate a pathway that leads to endospore formation, a process that is thoroughly studied and is a model system for prokaryotic development and differentiation. Spores are highly resistant to heat, cold, dessication, radiation, and disinfectants, and enable the organism to persist in otherwise inhospitable environments. Under more inviting conditions the spores germinate to produce vegetative cells. This organism is a soil-dwelling endospore-forming microbe similar to other Bacilli. This bacterium is used extensively in the industrial production of important enzymes such as proteases, penicllinases, and amylases as well as smaller compounds like the antibiotic bacitracin and various organic metabolites. This organism is closely related to Bacillus subtilis on the basis of rRNA typing, and it has been found to occasionally cause illness in humans.