Query: NC_009720:2143124 Xanthobacter autotrophicus Py2, complete genome
Lineage: Xanthobacter autotrophicus; Xanthobacter; Xanthobacteraceae; Rhizobiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Alkene-degrading bacterium. Xanthobacter autotrophicus is a nitrogen-fixing methylotroph, commonly isolated from organic rich soil, sediment and water. This organism uses an alkene-specific monooxygenase to convert propene to epoxypropane. This monooxygenase is also able to catalyze the initial step in the cometabolism of chlorinated alkenes such as vinyl chloride and trichloroethene. The Xanthobacter autotrophicus alkene monooxygenase and other genes involved in alkene degradation are located on a 320 kb megaplasmid.
Subject: NC_011961:528837 Thermomicrobium roseum DSM 5159 plasmid unnamed, complete sequence
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.