Comparative analysis of the Corynebacterium glutamicum group and complete genome sequence of strain R

1 Microbiology Research Group, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE), Soraku, Kyoto 619-0292, Japan 2 Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, Nara 630-0101, Japan Correspondence Hideaki Yukawa mmg-lab{at}rite.or.jp The complete genome sequence of Corynebacterium glutamicum strain R was determined to allow its comparative analysis with other corynebacteria. The biology of corynebacteria was explored by refining the definition of the subset of genes that constitutes the corynebacterial core as well as those characteristic of saprophytic and pathogenic ecological niches. In addition, the relative scarcity of corynebacterial sigma factors and the plasticity of their two-component system machinery reflect their relatively exacting nutritional requirements and reduced membrane-associated and secreted proteins. The conservation of key genes and pathways between corynebacteria, mycobacteria and Nocardia validates the use of C. glutamicum to study fundamental processes that are conserved in slow-growing mycobacteria, including pathogenesis-associated mechanisms. The discovery of 39 novel genes in C. glutamicum R that have not been previously reported in other corynebacteria supports the rationale for sequencing additional corynebacterial genomes to better define the corynebacterial pan-genome and identify previously undetected metabolic pathways in these organisms. Abbreviations: CDS, coding sequence(s); COG, clusters of orthologous groups; ECF, extracytoplasmic function; PTS, phosphotransferase system; SSI, strain-specific island The DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank accession numbers for the complete sequence of the C. glutamicum R genome and its native episome PCgR1 are AP009044 and AP009045, respectively. Tables of strains and plasmids, and of oligonucleotides and primers used in this study are available with the online version of this paper. Present address: Institute of Plant Biology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary.