Chromobacterium violaceum

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Classification

Higher order taxa

DOMAIN-Eubacteria
PHYLUM-Proteobacteria
CLASS -Betaproteobacteria
ORDER -Neisseriales
FAMILY-Neisseriaceae
[Others may be used. Use Tree of Life link to find]

Species

Chromobacterium C. violaceum

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Description and significance

Describe the appearance, habitat, etc. of the organism, and why it is important enough to have its genome sequenced. Describe how and where it was isolated. Include a picture or two (with sources) if you can find them.

A gram-negative rod shape bacterium that produces violet pigment - hence the name violaceum - when grown in tryptic soy broth (Chen et al, 2002).

Usually found in soils and water of tropical and subtropical regions, with temperature around 20°C-37°C as its optimal temperature; and growth would be inhibited with temperature near or below 4°C (chen et al, 2002).

Cellular Features
Gram Stain	Shape	Arrangement	Endospores	Motility
Negative	Sphere, Curved	Singles, Pairs, Chains	N/A	Yes

Environment
Salinity	Oxygen Req.	Habitats
N/A	Facultative	Multiple

Temperature
Optimal Temp.	Range
25°C	Mesophilic

Above tables were borrowed from the following website: [[1]]

Genome structure

Describe the size and content of the genome. How many chromosomes? Circular or linear? Other interesting features? What is known about its sequence? Does it have any plasmids? Are they important to the organism's lifestyle?

Circular chromosome with a length of 4.8 Mbp, 123 RNAs. amd 4407 proteins

Genome Project > Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472 project at LNCC, Brazil
Osbaldiston GW, Greve T, "Estimating adrenal cortical function in dogs with ACTH.", Cornell Vet, 1978 Jul;68(3):308-9
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

Cell structure and metabolism

Describe any interesting features and/or cell structures; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.

Ecology

Describe any interactions with other organisms (included eukaryotes), contributions to the environment, effect on environment, etc.

Pathology

How does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as patient symptoms.

Chromobacteria do not usually cause diseases in humans, the first C. violaceum infection reported was in 1927 from Malaysia, and approximately 150 cases reported worldwide, such as Asia, USA, Australia, and Africa (Martinez & Mattar, 2007).

C. violaceum usually enters hosts through injured wounds, skin lession, cervical abscess, or the pharynx (Chen et al, 2002).

Pathogenic in	Disease
Human	Diarrhea and occasionally Septicemia

Above table was taken from the following website:[[2]]

Application to Biotechnology

Does this organism produce any useful compounds or enzymes? What are they and how are they used?

M.S.P. Carepo et al. proposed the three operons in C. violaceum having pharmacological, biotechnological, and industrial properties. They are, the ars Operon, which gives rise to arsenic resistance to the baterium; cyn Operon, which is capable of cynate detoxification; and the hcn Operon that produces cyanse for biogenic production of cyanide, hcn also composed of an open reading frame (ORF) for acid dehalogenase.

Current Research

Enter summaries of the most recent research here--at least three required

References

[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.