Query: NC_010337:2793667 Heliobacterium modesticaldum Ice1, complete genome Lineage: Heliobacterium modesticaldum; Heliobacterium; Heliobacteriaceae; Clostridiales; Firmicutes; Bacteria General Information: Heliobacterium modesticaldum strain Ice1, the type strain of this species, was isolated from Icelandic hot spring volcanic soils. It grows optimally above 50 degrees Celsius, grows best photoheterotrophically, but can grow in the dark chemotrophically on pyruvate. Phototrophic thermophile. This organism is an anoxygenic phototroph isolated from hot spring microbial mats and volcanic soil. Cell wall structure, the ability to form endospores, and 16S ribosomal RNA analysis place Heliobacterium modesticaldum in a family of phototrophic bacteria related to the Clostridia. Heliobacterium modesticaldum is able to fix nitrogen and may contribute significantly to the nitrogen availability in microbial mats.
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General Information: This strain is found in the cedar aphid, Cinara cedri. Aphid endosymbiont. Almost all aphids contain maternally transmitted bacteriocyte cells, which themselves contain bacteria called Buchnera. The aphids live on a restricted diet (plant sap), rich in carbohydrates, but poor in nitrogenous or other essential compounds. It is believed that the Buchnera provide the essential nutrients the host lacks. Besides a nutritional co-dependence, due to a co-existence of millions of years, Buchnera have lost the ability to produce cell surface components such as lipopolysaccharides. This makes for an obligate endosymbiont relationship between host and Buchnera. Buchnera are prokaryotic cells which belong to the gamma-Proteobacteria, closely related to the Enterobacteriaceae family. Phylogenetic studies using 16S rRNA indicate that the symbiotic relationship was established around 200-250 million years ago. Since Buchnera are closely related to Escherichia coli and Haemophilus influenzae, comparative genomic studies can shed light on the evolutionary mechanisms of intracellular endosymbiosis as well as the different underlying molecular basis between organisms with parasitic behavior and symbionts.