Query: NC_013123:78786 Candidatus Sulcia muelleri SMDSEM, complete genome
Lineage: Sulcia muelleri; Sulcia; ; Flavobacteriales; Bacteroidetes; Bacteria
General Information: Candidatus Sulcia muelleri is a gut symbiont of the Blue-Green Sharpshooter and several other leafhopper species. It synthesizes amino acids for the host, enabling the leafhopper to live on a diet of plant sap. The Blue-Green Sharpshooter is an important vector for Pierce's Disease in plants, caused by the spread of Xylella fastidiosa.
Subject: NC_012808:806432 Methylobacterium extorquens AM1, complete genome
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.