Web Alert: Large bacterial genomes, > 9 Mb

Lawrence P. Wackett*

An annotated selection of World Wide Web sites relevant to the topics in environmental microbiology

*McKnight Professor & Head, Microbial Biochemistry & Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA

 

Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110
http://bacteria.kazusa.or.jp/rhizobase/Bradyrhizobium/about.html
Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110 was originally isolated from a soybean nodule. It has become a model organism for studying the nodulation process. Its genome consists of a single, large circular chromosome.

Burkholderia xenovorans LB400
http://users.ugent.be/~tcoenye/
Burkholderia xenovorans LB400 was previously designated as B. cepacia. It is particularly adept at metabolizing a wide range of xenobiotic compounds, hence its species name “xenovorans.”

Gemmata obscuriglobus UQM 2246 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=genomeprj&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Overview&list_uids=20997
Gemmata obscuriglobus UQM 2246 is an unusual bacterium, being known to possess a membrane-bound, DNA-containing nucleoid resembling the eukaryotic nucleus. It has a developmental life cycle, with a multitrichous, motile phase.

Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum MS-1
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/viewer.fcgi??db=nucleotide&val=NZ_AAAP00000000
Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum MS-1 is a Gram-negative magnetotactic spiral-shaped bacterium. Its ability to migrate in a magnetic field is due to it formation of magnetite crystals intracellularly.

Microscilla marina ATCC23134
http://www.moore.org/microgenome/detail.aspx?id=39
Microscilla marina ATCC23134 was isolated from a marine environment near LaJolla, California. It closely resembles Cytophaga sp.

Myxococcus xanthus DK1622
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myxococcus_xanthus
Myxococcus xanthus strains are found in most soils where they form a self-aggregating biofilm. Myxococcus xanthus DK1622 has been an important model organism for studying myxobacteria.

Nostoc punctiforme PCC 73102
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=genome&Cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Protein+Table&list_uids=22224
Nostoc punctiforme is a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium. This bacterium forms differentiated cells, most notably heterocysts which form in response to a lack of nitrogen.

Plesiocystis pacifica SIR-1
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/viewer.fcgi??db=nucleotide&val=NZ_ABCS00000000
Plesiocystis pacifica SIR-1 is a marine bacterium most closely related to Nannocycstis strains. It is extremely slow growing.

Rhodococcus sp. RHA1
http://www.rhodococcus.ca/
Rhodococcus sp. RHA1 was isolated for its ability to degrade the pesticide lindane and it also has the ability to degrade various polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners.

Solibacter usitatus Ellin6076
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/viewer.fcgi??db=nucleotide&val=NC_008536
Solibacter usitatus Ellin6076 was isolated from a ryegrass pasture. It is in the Acidobacterium group.

Sorangium cellulosum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorangium_cellulosum
This myxobacterium may have the largest genome sequenced to date having 13,033,779 base pairs. It is motile via gliding motility.

Stigmatella aurantiaca DW4/3-1
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/viewer.fcgi?val=NZ_AAMD00000000
Stigmatella aurantiaca DW4/3-1 is of particular interest because of its multicellular developmental cycle. It, and related organisms, form fruiting bodies in nature.

Streptomyces avermitilis MA-4680
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/viewer.fcgi?val=NC_003155
Streptomyces avermitilis MA-4680 I a filamentous soil bacterium that is well known as a producer of the antibiotic avermectin.

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