Pre_GI: SWBIT SVG BLASTP

Query: NC_004061:498483 Buchnera aphidicola str. Sg (Schizaphis graminum), complete genome

Lineage: Buchnera aphidicola; Buchnera; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This strain is the symbiont of the aphid Schizaphis graminum and contains a large circular chromosome. Aphid endosymbiont. Almost all aphids contain maternally transmitted bacteriocyte cells, which themselves contain bacteria called Buchnera. The aphids live on a restricted diet (plant sap), rich in carbohydrates, but poor in nitrogenous or other essential compounds. It is believed that the Buchnera provide the essential nutrients the host lacks. Besides a nutritional co-dependence, due to a co-existence of millions of years, Buchnera have lost the ability to produce cell surface components such as lipopolysaccharides. This makes for an obligate endosymbiont relationship between host and Buchnera. Buchnera are prokaryotic cells which belong to the gamma-Proteobacteria, closely related to the Enterobacteriaceae family. Phylogenetic studies using 16S rRNA indicate that the symbiotic relationship was established around 200-250 million years ago. Since Buchnera are closely related to Escherichia coli and Haemophilus influenzae, comparative genomic studies can shed light on the evolutionary mechanisms of intracellular endosymbiosis as well as the different underlying molecular basis between organisms with parasitic behavior and symbionts.

Subject: NC_002937:2068117 Desulfovibrio vulgaris subsp. vulgaris str. Hildenborough, complete

Lineage: Desulfovibrio vulgaris; Desulfovibrio; Desulfovibrionaceae; Desulfovibrionales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria

General Information: This strain was isolated from clay soil near Hildenborough, UK in 1946. A sulfate reducing bacterium. These organisms typically grow anaerobically, although some can tolerate oxygen, and they utilize a wide variety of electron acceptors, including sulfate, sulfur, nitrate, and nitrite. A number of toxic metals are reduced, including uranium (VI), chromium (VI) and iron (III), making these organisms of interest as bioremediators. Metal corrosion, a problem that is partly the result of the collective activity of these bacteria, produces billions of dollars in losses each year to the petroleum industry. These organisms are also responsible for the production of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas in marine sediments and in terrestrial environments such as drilling sites for petroleum products. This species is a sulfate reducer commonly found in a variety of soil and aquatic environments.