Genome sequence of Methylocystis hirsuta CSC1, a polyhydroxyalkanoate producing methanotroph.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable plastics that can be produced by some methanotrophic organisms such as those of the genus Methylocystis. This allows the conversion of a detrimental greenhouse gas into an environmentally friendly high added-value bioproduct. This study presents the genome sequence of Methylocystis hirsuta CSC1 (a high yield PHB producer). The genome comprises 4,213,043 bp in 4 contigs, with the largest contig being 3,776,027 bp long. Two of the other contigs are likely to correspond to large size plasmids. A total of 4,664 coding sequences were annotated, revealing a PHA production cluster, two distinct particulate methane monooxygenases with active catalytic sites, as well as a nitrogen fixation operon and a partial denitrification pathway.