Propionibacterium acnes is the relatively slow-growing, typically aerotolerantanaerobic, Gram-

positive bacterium (rod) linked to the skin condition of acne; it can also cause
chronic blepharitis and endophthalmitis,[1] the latter particularly following intraocular surgery.
The genome of the bacterium has been sequenced and a study has shown several genes can
generate enzymes for degrading skin and proteins that may be immunogenic (activating the immune
system).

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an obligate[1] pathogenic bacterial species in the

family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis.[2] First discovered in 1882
by Robert Koch, M. tuberculosis has an unusual, waxy coating on its cell surface primarily due to the
presence of mycolic acid. This coating makes the cells impervious to Gram staining and as a
result M. tuberculosis can appear either Gram-negative or Gram-positive.[3] Acid-fast stains such
as Ziehl-Neelsen, or fluorescent stains such as auramine are used instead to identify M. tuberculosis
with a microscope. The physiology of M. tuberculosis is highly aerobic and requires high levels of
oxygen. Primarily a pathogen of the mammalian respiratory system, it infects the lungs. The most
frequently used diagnostic methods for tuberculosis are the tuberculin skin test, acid-fast
stain, culture, and polymerase chain reaction.[2][4]

Leptospira interrogans is a Gram negative, obligate aerobe spirochete, with periplasmic flagella.
When viewed through a light microscope, it often resembles a question mark, and this gives the
species its name. It is a member of the genus Leptospira. Some important pathogenic serovars from
this species are Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Australis. L. interrogans is difficult to culture,
requiring special media and extended incubation periods.[1]

Leptospira interrogans is a Gram negative, obligate aerobe spirochete, with periplasmic flagella.
When viewed through a light microscope, it often resembles a question mark, and this gives the
species its name. It is a member of the genus Leptospira. Some important pathogenic serovars from
this species are Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Australis. L. interrogans is difficult to culture,
requiring special media and extended incubation periods.[1]

Bacillus anthracis is the etiologic agent of anthrax—a common disease of livestock and,
occasionally, of humans—and the only obligate pathogen within the genus Bacillus.[1] B. anthracis is
a Gram-positive, endospore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium, with a width of 1.0–1.2 µm and a length
of 3–5 µm.[1] It can be grown in an ordinary nutrient medium under aerobic or anaerobic conditions.[2]

Streptomyces venezuelae[1] is a species of soil-dwelling[2] Gram-positive bacterium of

the genus Streptomyces.[3] S. venezuelae is filamentous. In its spore-bearing stage, hyphae perfuse
both above ground as aerial hyphae and in the soil substrate.[3] Chloramphenicol, the
first antibiotic to be manufactured synthetically on a large scale, was originally derived
from S. venezuelae.[2][4][5]

treptomyces griseus is a species of bacteria in the genus Streptomyces commonly found in soil. A
few strains have been also reported from deep-sea sediments. It is a Gram positive bacterium with
high GC content. Along with most other streptomycetes, S. griseus strains are well known producers
of antibiotics and other such commercially significant secondary metabolites. These strains are
known to be producers of 32 different structural types of bioactive compounds. Streptomycin, the
first antibiotic ever reported from a bacterium comes from strains of S. griseus. Recently, the whole
genome sequence of one of its strains had been completed.

Escherichia coli (/ˌɛʃᵻˈrɪkiə ˈkoʊlaɪ/;[1] also known as E. coli) is a gram-negative, facultatively

anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus Escherichia that is commonly found in the
lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms).[2] Most E. coli strains are harmless, but
some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in their hosts, and are occasionally responsible
for product recalls due to food contamination.[3][4] The harmless strains are part of the normal flora of
the gut, and can benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2,[5]and preventing colonization of the
intestine with pathogenic bacteria.[6][7] E. coli is expelled into the environment within fecal matter. The
bacterium grows massively in fresh fecal matter under aerobic conditions for 3 days, but its numbers
decline slowly afterwards.[8]

Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (until 2014 known as Lactobacillus bulgaricus) is

\

one of several bacteria used for the production of yogurt. It is also found in other naturally fermented
products. First identified in 1905 by the Bulgarian doctor Stamen Grigorov, the bacterium feeds
on lactose to produce lactic acid, which is used to preserve milk.

Streptococcus thermophilus also known as Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus[1][2] is

a gram-positive bacterium, and a fermentative facultative anaerobe, of the viridans group.[3] It tests
negative for cytochrome, oxidase, and catalase, and positive for alpha-hemolytic activity.[3] It is non-
motile and does not form endospores.[3] S. thermophilus is fimbriated.[4] It has an optimal growth
temperature range of 35 - 42 °C while L. bulgaricus has an optimal range of 43 - 46 °C.[5]

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that can

cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical
importance, P. aeruginosa is a multidrug resistant pathogen recognised for its ubiquity, its
intrinsically advanced antibiotic resistance mechanisms, and its association with serious illnesses –
especially hospital-acquired infections such as ventilator-associated pneumonia and
various sepsis syndromes.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a typically short, almost round, rod-shaped (coccobacillus) Gram-

negative bacterium. It can be an opportunistic pathogen in humans, affecting people with
compromised immune systems, and is becoming increasingly important as a hospital-derived
(nosocomial) infection. While other species of the genus Acinetobacter are often found
in soil samples (leading to the common misconception that A. baumannii is a soil organism, too), it is
almost exclusively isolated from hospital environments.[1] Although occasionally it has been found in
environmental soil and water samples,[2] its natural habitat is still not known

Paenibacillus is a genus of facultative anaerobic, endospore-forming bacteria, originally included

within the genus Bacillus and then reclassified as a separate genus in 1993.[8]Bacteria belonging to
this genus have been detected in a variety of environments, such as: soil, water, rhizosphere,
vegetable matter, forage and insect larvae, as well as clinical samples.[9][10][11][12] The name reflects:
Latin paene means almost, so the paenibacilli are literally "almost bacilli. The genus includes P.
larvae, which is known to cause American foulbrood in honeybees, the P. polymyxa, which is
capable of fixing nitrogen, so is used in agriculture and horticulture, the Paenibacillus sp. JDR-2
which is known to be a rich source of chemical agents for biotechnology applications, and pattern-
forming strains such as P. vortex and P. dendritiformis discovered in the early 90s,[13][14][15][16][17] which
are known to develop complex colonies with intricate architectures[18][19][20][21][22] as is illustrated in the
pictures.

Bordetella bronchiseptica is a small, Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium of the

genus Bordetella.[1] It can cause infectious bronchitis in dogs and other animals, [2] but rarely infects
humans.[3] Closely related to B. pertussis[4]—the obligate human pathogen that
causes pertussis (whooping cough); B. bronchiseptica can persist in the environment for extended
periods.[5]

Lysinibacillus sphaericus C3-41 is a naturally occurring soil bacterium. It is a Gram-positive, mesophilic, rod-
shaped bacterium. Under harsh conditions, Lysinibacillus sphaericus can form dormant endospores that are
resistant to heat, chemicals, and ultraviolet light. These spores may remain viable for a long time. Although it is
typically a facultative anaerobe, L. sphaericus may be anaerobic under certain conditions (Todar, K). The
organism was isolated from a mosquito breeding site in China in 1987 (Pei, G.). It is a common environmental
organism which produces an insecticidal toxin similar to that produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (see the NCBI
Entrez Genome Project webpage at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=genomeprj).

Lysinibacillus sphaericus C3-41 is an important organism to study because it can be used as an insecticidal
toxin that controls mosquito growth. This organism, along with similar organisms, is utilized in insect control
programs to reduce the population of disease vector species that transmit diseases such as malaria, yellow
fever, and West Nile virus (for more info, see the Washington State Department of Health webpage
at http://www.doh.wa.gov/). Genome sequencing of this organism is useful because it increases our knowledge
of the bacilli and also offers insight for future improvement of important biological control agents (Hu, et al.,
2008).

Anabaena Azollae is a small filamentous phototrophic cyanobacteria generally seen as a multicellular

organism with two distinct, interdependent cell types. The first is a small, circular, photoautotrophic “vegetative”
cell that performs oxygenic photosynthesis and is typically blue green in color. The second is a heterocyst; a
larger, paler, more homogenous cell produced by Anabaena to fix atmospheric nitrogen. A. Azollae, although it
can exist on it’s own, is usually found within ovoid cavities inside the leaves of the water fern Azolla. Azolla
(also known as mosquito fern, duckweed fern, or fairy moss) is a genus of common waterfern whose small
leaves accumulate on the surface of bodies of water creating mats. A. Azollae and Azolla have formed a
symbiotic relationship in which the cyanobacterium receives carbon and nitrogen sources from the plant in
exchange for fixed nitrogen. This relationship has proven to be useful to humans in the production of food;
specifically in the fertilization of rice paddies. Azolla is used as an organic biofertilizer to increase the nitrogen
levels in the rice paddies. A. Azollae is a model organism commonly used in labs for the study of gene
differentiation in the formation of heterocysts.
Bacillus thuringiensis (or Bt) is a Gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium, commonly used as
a biological pesticide. B. thuringiensis also occurs naturally in the gut of caterpillars of various types
of moths and butterflies, as well on leaf surfaces, aquatic environments, animal feces, insect-rich
environments, and flour mills and grain-storage facilities.[1][2]
During sporulation, many Bt strains produce crystal proteins (proteinaceous inclusions), called δ-
endotoxins, that have insecticidal action. This has led to their use as insecticides, and more recently
to genetically modified crops using Bt genes, such as Bt corn.[3] Many crystal-producing Bt strains,
though, do not have insecticidal properties.[4]