Genomic complexity and plasticity of Burkholderia cepacia

Burkholderia cepacia has attracted attention because of its extraordinary degradative abilities and its potential as a pathogen for plants and for humans. This bacterium was formerly considered to belong to the genus Pseudomonus in the gamma-subclass of the Proteobacteria, but recently has been assigned to the beta-subclass based on rrn gene sequence analyses and other key phenotypic characteristics. The B. cepacia genome is comprised of multiple chromosomes and is rich in insertion sequences. These two features may have played a key role in the evolution of novel degradative functions and the unusual adaptability of this bacterium.