Query: NC_002607:1868371 Halobacterium sp. NRC-1, complete genome
Lineage: Halobacterium; Halobacterium; Halobacteriaceae; Halobacteriales; Euryarchaeota; Archaea
General Information: Chemoheterotrophic obligate extreme halophilic archeon. This microbe (strain ATCC 700922) is an obligately halophilic archeon that has adapted to growth under conditions of extremely high salinity. Motility is via tufts of polar flagella and intracellular gas vesicles are used for buoyancy. This organism grow aerobically and its ease of culturing combined with the availability of established methods of genetic manipulation in the laboratory make it an ideal model organism for study of the archaea.
Subject: NC_011959:972798 Thermomicrobium roseum DSM 5159, complete genome
Lineage: Thermomicrobium roseum; Thermomicrobium; Thermomicrobiaceae; Thermomicrobiales; Chloroflexi; Bacteria
General Information: Thermomicrobium roseum DSM 5159 was isolated from Yellowstone National Park, USA. Obligate thermophile with unusual cell wall structure. Thermomicrobium roseum is a red-pigmented, rod-shaped, Gram-negative extreme thermophile that possesses both an atypical cell wall composition and an unusual cell membrane that is composed entirely of long-chain 1,2-diols. Analyses of environmental sequences from hot spring environments show that T.roseum displays a low quantity but ubiquitous presence in top layers of microbial mats. Few standard housekeeping genes are found on the megaplasmid, however, it does encode a complete system for chemotaxis including both chemosensory components and an entire flagellar apparatus. T. roseum oxidizes CO aerobically, making it the first thermophile known to do so. In addition, is is propose that glycosylation of its carotenoids plays a crucial role in the adaptation of the cell membrane to this bacterium's thermophilic lifestyle. Because T. roseum is a deep-branching member of this phylum, eventhough this species is not photosynthetic, analysis of the genome provides some insight into the origins of photosynthesis in the Chloroflexi.