Bacteria Genomes - CAULOBACTER CRESCENTUS

Caulobacter crescentus is a Gram-negative bacterium and a member of the a-subdivision of Proteobacteria. It is an an innocuous single-celled organism that lives in water and which survives in nutrient-poor habitats.

Caulobacter crescentus has one circular chromosome containing some 3,700 genes and provides the simplest model system for study of both the bacterial cell cycle and the mechanisms of asymmetric cell division. The C. crescentus cell divides into two different types of cells, swarmer cells and stalked cells. The swarmer cell swims about for 30-45 minutes before shedding its flagellum and differentiating into a stalk cell.

Researchers have compared C. crescentus to other completely sequenced organisms such as E. coli and Xylella fastidiosa. Comparative analyses may yield clues to the pathogenicity of infectious agents, such as the Rickettsia agent that causes typhus. The comparison between the C. crescentus genome and that of Rickettsia may ultimately help to discriminate between the 'core' cell cycle genes required for proper progression of the cell cycle and the 'peripheral' genes that are cell-cycle regulated but not needed for full viability in C. crescentus.

Analysis of the Caulobacter genome reveals surprising similarities with soil-dwelling microbes. The presence of genes coding for enzymes that break down plant polysaccharides, such as cellulose, lignin and pectin, as well as transporter systems for importing the resulting sugars, provides information that plants can serve as a previously unrecognised source of fuel for Caulobacter.

References:

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A , 98 (7):4136-41 (2001)
http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/03_01/Caulobacter_crescentus.shtml
http://caulo.stanford.edu/caulo/