Query: NC_012808:806432 Methylobacterium extorquens AM1, complete genome
Lineage: Methylobacterium extorquens; Methylobacterium; Methylobacteriaceae; Rhizobiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: First isolated in 1960 in Oxford, England, as an airborne contaminant growing on methylamine. This strain can grow on methylamine or methanol, but not methane. This organism is capable of growth on one-carbon compounds such as methanol. Methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde which is then used metabolically to generate either energy or biomass. These bacteria are commonly found in the environment, especially associated with plants which produce methanol when metabolizing pectin during cell wall synthesis. At least 25 genes are required for this complex process of converting methanol to formaldehyde and this specialized metabolic pathway is of great interest.
Subject: NC_011420:365505 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.