Query: NC_009511:2726296 Sphingomonas wittichii RW1 chromosome, complete genome
Lineage: Sphingomonas wittichii; Sphingomonas; Sphingomonadaceae; Sphingomonadales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Sphingomonas wittichii was isolated from water from the Elbe River in Germany. This organism is able to grow using dibenzo-p-dioxin or dibenzofuran as a sole carbon source. These compounds are widespread environmental contaminants formed as by-products in the manufacture of pesticides and paper, and during the incineration of industrial waste. The enzymes involved in degradation of these substrates is contained, in part, on plasmids in Sphingomonas wittichii.
Subject: NC_002932:296557 Chlorobium tepidum TLS, complete genome
Lineage: Chlorobaculum tepidum; Chlorobaculum; Chlorobiaceae; Chlorobiales; Chlorobi; Bacteria
General Information: This green-sulfur bacterium is a thermophile and was isolated from a New Zealand high-sulfide hot spring. Photosynthetic thermophile. Chlorobium tepidum is a member of the green-sulfur bacteria. It has been suggested that the green-sulfur bacteria were among the first photosynthetic organisms since they are anaerobically photosynthetic and may have arisen early in the Earth's history when there was a limited amount of oxygen present. This organism utilizes a novel photosynthetic system, and harvests light energy using an unusual organelle, the chlorosome, which contains an aggregate of light-harvesting centers surrounded by a protein-stabilized galactolipid monolayer that lies at the inner surface of the cytoplasmic membrane. Unlike many other photosynthetic organisms, the green-sulfur bacteria do not produce oxygen and tolerate only low levels of the molecule. This organism also fixes carbon dioxide via a reverse tricarboxylic acid cycle, using electrons derived from hydrogen or reduced sulfur to drive the reaction, instead of via the Calvin cycle like many other photosynthetic organisms.