Query: NC_010544:850502 Candidatus Phytoplasma australiense, complete genome
Lineage: Phytoplasma australiense; Phytoplasma; Acholeplasmataceae; Acholeplasmatales; Tenericutes; Bacteria
General Information: Phytoplasmas inhabit phloem (food-conducting vascular tissue) sieve elements of plants where they cause a variety of diseases. Transmission between plants is via insects that feed on the phloem. Candidatus Phytoplasma australiense was identified in diseased Chardonnay grapevines from South Australia. Symptoms include a yellowing of the leaves and reduced leaf size, which leads to reduced plant size and lower yields.
Subject: NC_015709:1769806 Zymomonas mobilis subsp. pomaceae ATCC 29192 chromosome, complete
Lineage: Zymomonas mobilis; Zymomonas; Sphingomonadaceae; Sphingomonadales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Country: United Kingdom; Isolation: Sick cider; Temp: Mesophile. The natural habitat of this organism includes sugar-rich plant saps where the bacterium ferments sugar to ethanol. The high conversion of sugars to ethanol makes this organism useful in industrial production systems, particularly in production of bioethanol for fuel. A recombinant strain of this bacterium is utilized for the conversion of sugars, particularly xylose, which is not utilized by another common sugar-fermenting organism such as yeast, to ethanol. Since xylose is a common breakdown product of cellulose or a waste component of the agricultural industry, it is an attractive source for ethanol production. Zymomonas mobilis was chosen for this process as it is ethanol-tolerant (up to 120 grams of ethanol per litre) and productive (5-10% more ethanol than Saccharomyces). This bacterium ferments using the Enter-Doudoroff pathway, with the result that less carbon is used in cellular biomass production and more ends up as ethanol, another factor that favors this organism for ethanol production.