Genome properties The genome consists of a 1,694,430 bp long linear chromosome with a G+C content of 37.5% (Table 3 and Figure 3). Of the 1,780 genes predicted, 1,723 were protein-coding genes, and 57 RNAs; 46 pseudogenes were also identified. The majority of the protein-coding genes (76.4%) were cause assigned with a putative function while the remaining ones were annotated as hypothetical proteins. The distribution of genes into COGs functional categories is presented in Table 4. Table 3 Genome Statistics Figure 3 Graphical map of the linear chromosome. From left to right: Genes on forward strand (color by COG categories), Genes on reverse strand (color by COG categories), RNA genes (tRNAs green, rRNAs red, other RNAs black), GC content, GC skew.

Table 4 Number of genes associated with the general COG functional categories Acknowledgements We would like to gratefully acknowledge the help of Maren Schr?der (DSMZ) for growing H. maritima cultures. This work was performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research Program, and by the University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory under contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344, and Los Alamos National Laboratory under contract No. DE-AC02-06NA25396, UT-Battelle and Oak Ridge National Laboratory under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725, as well as German Research Foundation (DFG) INST 599/1-2.
Figure 1 shows the phylogenetic neighborhood of A. phenanthrenivorans strain Sphe3T in a 16S rRNA based tree.

Figure 1 Phylogenetic tree highlighting the position of A. phenanthrenivorans strain Sphe3T relative to the other type strains within the family. Numbers above branches are support values from 100 bootstrap replicates. Strain Sphe3T is a Gram-positive, aerobic, non-motile bacterium exhibiting a rod-coccus cycle (Figure 2), with a cell size of approximately 1.0-1.5 x 2.5-4.0 ��m. Colonies were slightly yellowish on Luria agar. The temperature range was 40-37oC with optimum growth at 30-37oC. The pH range was 6.5-8.5 with optimal growth at pH 7.0-7.5 (Table 1). Strain Sphe3T was found to be sensitive to various antibiotics, the minimal inhibitory concentrations of which were estimated as follows: ampicillin 20 mgL-1, chloramphenicol 10 mgL-1, erythromycin 10 mgL-1, neomycin 20 mgL-1, rifampicin 10 mgL-1 and tetracycline 10 mgL-1.

Figure 2 Scanning electron micrograph of A. phenanthrenivorans strain Sphe3T Table 1 Classification and general features of A. phenanthrenivorans strain Sphe3T according to the MIGS recommendations [6] Amylase, catalase and nitrate reductase tests were positive, whereas arginine dihydrolase, gelatinase, Batimastat lipase, lysine and ornithine decarboxylase, oxidase, urease, citrate assimilation and H2S production tests were negative.