Asinibacterium sp. OR53 Genome sequencing and assembly. Asinibacterium sp. OR53

Heavy metal contaminations of subsurface sediments and soils are very severe and widespread environmental problems. DOE has established research sites to investigate the influence of microorganisms on the fate of the contaminants. One of these sites is the Oak Ridge Field Research Center (OR-FRC). All five bacteria proposed for whole genome sequencing in this project were isolated from the contaminated subsurface sediment at the OR-FRC site (Area 3). Contaminations of that environment include uranium and other heavy metals, nitrate, organic solvents, and low pH value. Molecular analysis of other researchers demonstrated the abundance of these bacteria in the subsurface sediment and ground water at the OR-FRC area (Abulencia et al., 2006; Akob et al., 2006, Brodie et al., 2006; Cardenas et al., 2008; Fields et al., 2005; Michalsen et al., 2009, Reardon et al., 2004; Spain et al., 2007 and others). The isolation procedure of four of the five bacteria included growth under the prevailing conditions in the sediment indicating that these isolates are able to actively grow in the presence of the stress factors (Bollmann et al., 2007). Preliminary growth experiments show the tolerance of the isolates towards certain stress factors (Scientific rationale). And finally these five isolates are plylogenetically different to already sequenced bacteria that are involved in heavy metal metabolism. Based on all of these characteristics the five bacteria are ideal candidates for whole genome sequencing under the DOE mission “Biogeochemistry”.