Genome sequencing of the MTBE-degrading Methylibium sp. T29. Methylibium sp. T29

Microbial ecosystems have been exposed to fuel oxygenates only for a few decades. Despite this short time there are several organisms described that are able to degrade these synthetic compounds. However, the genetic background of degradation is still largely unknown. The only MTBE-degrading bacterium the genome of which is fully sequenced is the Methylibium petroleiphilum PM1. Beside this, only partial sequences are available. The main objective of this genome sequencing project was to identify the genes involved in MTBE-degradation in a new Methylibium isolate in which known genes could not be identified by PCR-based methods.