title: Complete genome of the mutualistic, N2-fixing grass endophyte Azoarcus sp. strain BH72.
abstract: Azoarcus sp. strain BH72, a mutualistic endophyte of rice and other grasses, is of agrobiotechnological interest because it supplies biologically fixed nitrogen to its host and colonizes plants in remarkably high numbers without eliciting disease symptoms. The complete genome sequence is 4,376,040-bp long and contains 3,992 predicted protein-coding sequences. Genome comparison with the Azoarcus-related soil bacterium strain EbN1 revealed a surprisingly low degree of synteny. Coding sequences involved in the synthesis of surface components potentially important for plant-microbe interactions were more closely related to those of plant-associated bacteria. Strain BH72 appears to be 'disarmed' compared to plant pathogens, having only a few enzymes that degrade plant cell walls; it lacks type III and IV secretion systems, related toxins and an N-acyl homoserine lactones-based communication system. The genome contains remarkably few mobile elements, indicating a low rate of recent gene transfer that is presumably due to adaptation to a stable, low-stress microenvironment.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of General Microbiology, University of Bremen, PO Box 330440, D-28334 Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: Adarsh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramakumar
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bartels
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Battistoni
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bekel
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boch
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Böhm
authors.forename: Frauke
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Friedrich
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hurek
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: Burkhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Linke
authors.forename: Alice C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: McHardy
authors.forename: Abhijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schneiker
authors.forename: Arshad Ali
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Syed
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thauer
authors.forename: Frank-Jörg
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Vorhölter
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weidner
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pühler
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Reinhold-Hurek
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goesmann
mesh_terms: D020627:Azoarcus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D015698:Genomic Library; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics*; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D012275:Oryza / Q000382:microbiology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods; D013559:Symbiosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon; D007501:Iron