Query: NC_012808:420334 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_004369:2968251 Corynebacterium efficiens YS-314, complete genome
Lineage: Corynebacterium efficiens; Corynebacterium; Corynebacteriaceae; Actinomycetales; Actinobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This is the type strain of C. efficiens isolated by researchers of Ajinomoto food company from soils at Kanagawa, Japan in the late 1980's. The strain can grow and produce glutamate at temperatures above up to 45oC in contrast to C. glutamicum that is only efficient at around 30oC. This feature is very beneficial for industrial applications, because less heat removal is required in fermenters to be used for cultivation of these bacteria. Glutamate-producing bacterium. They may be found as members of the normal microflora of humans, where these bacteria find a suitable niche in virtually every anatomic site. This organism is a recently proposed new species of the genus capable of producing significant quantities of glutamic acid (glutamate), an important enhancer of taste in the food industry. It is currently used commercially to produce glutamate and other amino acids and compounds.