Bacteria Genomes - RHODOPSEUDOMONAS PALUSTRIS

Rhodopseudomonas palustris is a purple non-sulfur phototrophic bacterium commonly found in soils and water. It converts sunlight to cellular energy by absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide and converting it to biomass. This microbe can also degrade and recycle a variety of aromatic compounds that comprise lignin, the main constituent of wood and the second most abundant polymer on earth.

R. palustris is acknowledged by microbiologists to be one of the most metabolically versatile bacteria ever described. Not only can it convert carbon dioxide gas into cell material but nitrogen gas into ammonia, and it can produce hydrogen gas. It grows both in the absence and presence of oxygen. In the absence of oxygen, it prefers to generate all its energy from light by photosynthesis.

Because of its intimate involvement in carbon management and recycling, R. palustris has been selected by the DOE Carbon Management Program (USA) to have its genome sequenced.

R. palustris has a genetic system - genes can be moved in and out of this bacterium easily, and specific genes thus can be targeted for mutagenesis -- which will allow researchers to rapidly apply information gained from genome sequencing to the developing area of functional genomics.

References:

Nat. Biotechnol. 22(1):55-61(2004).
http://genome.jgi-psf.org/finished_microbes/rhopa/rhopa.home.html
http://doegenomestolife.org/research/related/rhodopseudomonas.shtml