Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTN

Query: NC_012560:5338707 Azotobacter vinelandii DJ, complete genome

Lineage: Azotobacter vinelandii; Azotobacter; Pseudomonadaceae; Pseudomonadales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This organism was first isolated from the soil in Vineland, New Jersey, although it is found worldwide. It is a large obligate aerobe that has one of the highest respiratory rates of any organism. Azotobacter vinelandii also produces a number of unusual nitrogenases which allow it to fix atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, a compound it can then use as a nitrogen source. It protects the oxygen-sensitive nitrogenase enzymes through its high respiratory rate, which sequesters the nitrogenase complexes in an anoxic environment. This organism has a number of unusual characteristics. Under extreme environmental conditions, the cell will produce a cyst that is resistant to dessication and is surrounded by two capsular polysaccharide layers. This organism produces two industrially important polysaccharides, poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and alginate. PHB is a thermoplastic biopolymer, and alginate is used in the food industry. Alginate is also used by the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to infect the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients.

Subject: NC_011979:4293859 Geobacter sp. FRC-32, complete genome

Lineage: Geobacter daltonii; Geobacter; Geobacteraceae; Desulfuromonadales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This organism is able to reduce uranium and may be useful for in situ bioremediation of uranium. An iron(III)-reducing bacterium isolated from the uranium-contaminated subsurface of the U.S. Department of Energy NABIR Field Research Center (FRC), Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Several recent studies have verified using cultivation-independent methods that the Geobacteraceae are predominant in subsurface environments where dissimilatory metal reduction is important to the remediation of uranium and other contaminants.