Query: NC_017195:709098 Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis str. RO-NN-1 chromosome, complete
Lineage: Bacillus subtilis; Bacillus; Bacillaceae; Bacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: This organism was one of the first bacteria studied, and was named Vibrio subtilis in 1835 and renamed Bacillus subtilis in 1872. It is one of the most well characterized bacterial organisms, and is a model system for cell differentiation and development. This soil bacterium can divide asymmetrically, producing an endospore that is resistant to environmental factors such as heat, acid, and salt, and which can persist in the environment for long periods of time. The endospore is formed at times of nutritional stress, allowing the organism to persist in the environment until conditions become favorable. Prior to the decision to produce the spore the bacterium might become motile, through the production of flagella, and also take up DNA from the environment through the competence system. The sporulation process is complex and involves the coordinated regulation of hundreds of genes in the genome. This initial step results in the coordinated asymmetric cellular division and endospore formation through multiple stages that produces a single spore from the mother cell.
Subject: NC_006510:372826 Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426, complete genome
Lineage: Geobacillus kaustophilus; Geobacillus; Bacillaceae; Bacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: Geobacillus kaustophilus strain HTA426 was first isolated from deep sea sediment of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean and belongs to a closely related group of thermophilic Bacillus spp. Members of this genus were originally classified as Bacillus. Recent rDNA analysis and DNA-DNA hybridization studies using spore-forming thermophilic subsurface isolates provided enough evidence to define the phylogenetically distinct, physiologically and morphologically consistent taxon Geobacillus. Geobacillus species are chemo-organotrophic, obligately thermophilic, motile, spore-forming, aerobic or facultatively anaerobic. This organism was compared with mesophilic Bacillus spp. to identify genome characteristics and specific genes related to thermophilia. Analysis of the amino acid compositions showed clear differences between Geobacillus kaustophilus and the mesophilic bacilli. In addition, the higher G+C content in Geobacillus kaustophilus rRNA also appears correlated to thermophilia. In addition, tRNA modification by the Geobacillus kaustophilus specific tRNA methyltransferases probably aids in the thermoadaptation of this organism.