Query: NC_011420:2803196 Rhodospirillum centenum SW, complete genome
Lineage: Rhodospirillum centenum; Rhodospirillum; Rhodospirillaceae; Rhodospirillales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Rhodospirillum centenum, also called Rhodocista centenaria, is a nitrogen-fixing photoheterotroph with a complex life cycle. R. centenum is one of the few known thermotolerant purple bacteria species with optimal growth temperature of 44 dgrees C and a maximal growth temperature of 48 degrees C. In liquid media this organism is motile by a single polar flagellum. R. centenum produces lateral flagella to become a swarming cell. Under low nutrient conditions R. centenum forms a desiccation- and UV-resistant cyst. R. centenum can often be cultivated from hot springs such as those found at Yellowstone National Park. R. centenum is emerging as a model organism for genetic and molecular genetic analysis of cyst formation.
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.