Query: NC_011837:830436 Clostridium kluyveri NBRC 12016, complete genome
Lineage: Clostridium kluyveri; Clostridium; Clostridiaceae; Clostridiales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: Involved in production of caproic acid in co-culture with a methanogen. Clostridium kluyveri was enriched from mud in a co-culture with Methanobacterium omelianskii. When grown on ethanol C. kluyveri produce caproic acid in addition to acetic acid. This organism is able to grow anaerobically on ethanol and acetate as sole energy sources.
Subject: NC_003888:4523500 Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), complete genome
Lineage: Streptomyces coelicolor; Streptomyces; Streptomycetaceae; Actinomycetales; Actinobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Well-studied antiobiotic-producing bacterium. These bacteria are widely distributed in nature, especially in the soil. The characteristic earthy smell of freshly plowed soil is actually attributed to the aromatic terpenoid geosmin produced by species of Streptomyces. There are currently 364 known species of this genus, many of which are the most important industrial producers of antibiotics and other secondary metabolites of antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antitumor nature, as well as immunosuppressants, antihypercholesterolemics, etc. Streptomycetes are crucial in the soil environment because their diverse metabolism allows them to degrade the insoluble remains of other organisms, including recalcitrant compounds such as lignocelluloses and chitin. Streptomycetes produce both substrate and aerial mycelium. The latter shows characteristic modes of branching, and in the course of the streptomycete complex life cycle, these hyphae are partly transformed into chains of spores, which are often called conidia or arthrospores. An important feature in Streptomyces is the presence of type-I peptidoglycan in the cell walls that contains characteristic interpeptide glycine bridges. Another remarkable trait of streptomycetes is that they contain very large (~8 million base pairs which is about twice the size of most bacterial genomes) linear chromosomes with distinct telomeres. These rearrangements consist of the deletion of several hundred kilobases, often associated with the amplification of an adjacent sequence, and lead to metabolic diversity within the Streptomyces group. Sequencing of several strains of Streptomyces is aimed partly on understanding the mechanisms involved in these diversification processes. This bacterium is a soil-dwelling filamentous organism responsible for producing more than half of the known natural antibiotics. It is a well-studied species of Streptomyces and genetically is the best known representative.