Methanobacterium formicicum DSM3637 Genome Sequencing. Methanobacterium formicicum DSM 3637

Pelomyxa palustris is a giant multinucleated ameoba living at the anaerobic bottom of freshwater pools. It has three types of endosymbiotic bacteria that replace the lack of mitocondria. In 1983 a dutch group isolated one of the bacteria and reached the conclusion that it was a methanogenic bacterium, in particular Methanobacterium formicicum. The methane production and the presence of typical enzymatic cofactors of methanobacteria confirmed it. The present project tries to sequence the genome of this endosymbiotic bacterium and discover if the genome of this bacterium is peculiar as compared with free living related species.