Query: NC_012811:317308 Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 megaplasmid, complete sequence
Lineage: Methylobacterium extorquens; Methylobacterium; Methylobacteriaceae; Rhizobiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: First isolated in 1960 in Oxford, England, as an airborne contaminant growing on methylamine. This strain can grow on methylamine or methanol, but not methane. This organism is capable of growth on one-carbon compounds such as methanol. Methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde which is then used metabolically to generate either energy or biomass. These bacteria are commonly found in the environment, especially associated with plants which produce methanol when metabolizing pectin during cell wall synthesis. At least 25 genes are required for this complex process of converting methanol to formaldehyde and this specialized metabolic pathway is of great interest.
Subject: NC_011004:1174813 Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1, complete genome
Lineage: Rhodopseudomonas palustris; Rhodopseudomonas; Bradyrhizobiaceae; Rhizobiales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: This strain was isolated from an iron-rich microbial mat from School Street Marsh in Woods Hole, MA, USA. It grows photoautotrophically with Fe(II), H2, or thiosulfate as the electron donor, photoheterotrophically with a variety of organic carbon sources and chemoheterotrophically in the dark. This organism has a diverse metabolism and is capable of growth using light, inorganic, or organic compounds as energy sources and carbon dioxide or organic compounds as carbon sources. Commonly found in soil and water environments this bacterium is also capable of degrading a wide range of toxic organic compounds, and may be of use in bioremediation of polluted sites. The bacterium undergoes differentiation to produce a stalked nonmotile cell and a motile flagellated cell. In the presence of light, this bacterium produces a number of intracellular membranous vesicles to house the photosynthetic reaction centers.