We announce the availability of a high-quality draft of the genome sequence of Amycolatopsis sp. strain 39116, one of few bacterial species that are known to consume the lignin component of plant ...biomass. This genome sequence will further ongoing efforts to use microorganisms for the conversion of plant biomass into fuels and high-value chemicals.
Summary
We sequenced the genomes of 19 methylotrophic isolates from Lake Washington, which belong to nine genera within eight families of the Alphaproteobacteria, two of the families being the newly ...proposed families. Comparative genomic analysis with a focus on methylotrophy metabolism classifies these strains into heterotrophic and obligately or facultatively autotrophic methylotrophs. The most persistent metabolic modules enabling methylotrophy within this group are the N‐methylglutamate pathway, the two types of methanol dehydrogenase (MxaFI and XoxF), the tetrahydromethanopterin pathway for formaldehyde oxidation, the serine cycle and the ethylmalonyl‐CoA pathway. At the same time, a great potential for metabolic flexibility within this group is uncovered, with different combinations of these modules present. Phylogenetic analysis of key methylotrophy functions reveals that the serine cycle must have evolved independently in at least four lineages of Alphaproteobacteria and that all methylotrophy modules seem to be prone to lateral transfers as well as deletions.
Methylomonas methanica MC09 is a mesophilic, halotolerant, aerobic, methanotrophic member of the Gammaproteobacteria, isolated from coastal seawater. Here we present the complete genome sequence of ...this strain, the first available from an aerobic marine methanotroph.
Understanding the evolution of the free-living, cyanobacterial, diazotroph Trichodesmium is of great importance because of its critical role in oceanic biogeochemistry and primary production. Unlike ...the other >150 available genomes of free-living cyanobacteria, only 63.8% of the Trichodesmium erythraeum (strain IMS101) genome is predicted to encode protein, which is 20-25% less than the average for other cyanobacteria and nonpathogenic, free-living bacteria. We use distinctive isolates and metagenomic data to show that low coding density observed in IMS101 is a common feature of the Trichodesmium genus, both in culture and in situ. Transcriptome analysis indicates that 86% of the noncoding space is expressed, although the function of these transcripts is unclear. The density of noncoding, possible regulatory elements predicted in Trichodesmium, when normalized per intergenic kilobase, was comparable and twofold higher than that found in the gene-dense genomes of the sympatric cyanobacterial genera Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus, respectively. Conserved Trichodesmium noncoding RNA secondary structures were predicted between most culture and metagenomic sequences, lending support to the structural conservation. Conservation of these intergenic regions in spatiotemporally separated Trichodesmium populations suggests possible genus-wide selection for their maintenance. These large intergenic spacers may have developed during intervals of strong genetic drift caused by periodic blooms of a subset of genotypes, which may have reduced effective population size. Our data suggest that transposition of selfish DNA, low effective population size, and high-fidelity replication allowed the unusual "inflation" of noncoding sequence observed in Trichodesmium despite its oligotrophic lifestyle.
Zymomonas mobilis is an ethanologenic bacterium that has been studied for use in biofuel production. Of the sequenced Zymomonas strains, ATCC 29191 has been described as the phenotypic centrotype of ...Zymomonas mobilis subsp. mobilis, the taxon that harbors the highest ethanol-producing Z. mobilis strains. ATCC 29191 was isolated in Kinshasa, Congo, from palm wine fermentations. This strain is reported to be a robust levan producer, while in recent years it has been employed in studies addressing Z. mobilis respiration. Here we announce the finishing and annotation of the ATCC 29191 genome, which comprises one chromosome and three plasmids.