Abstract
Genomes of the month
There are five new microbial genomes described in this month's Genome Update, four from bacterial species and one from a fungus. The bacterial genomes are those of Desulfovibrio vulgaris, Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium avium and a Mediaevalis strain of Yersinia pestis. The fungal genome is that of Phanerochaete chrysosporium, the fungus responsible for white rot in decaying trees.
D. vulgaris is a sulfate-reducing bacterium found almost everywhere in nature, and is responsible for biocorrosion of metal infrastructures (e.g. oil drilling and pumping machinery); it can be also used for bioremediation of toxic metal ions such as cadmium and uranium. D. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris strain Hildenborough is the third genome of the δ-Proteobacteria to be published. Its genome is GC-rich and encodes about 3400 genes (see Table 1). The main chromosome is 3·5 Mbp long, and the genome also includes a 0·2 Mbp plasmid (Heidelberg et al., 2004).