The Quest for a Missing Sequence in the Genome of Arhodomonas sp. Seminole

The bacterium Arhodomonas sp. Seminole was observed in Seminole Co, OK to have traits favorable to eliminating oil pollution, in an eco-friendly way, in soil near well sites. Their traits come from the activities of their enzymes, but our main focus lies with where they came from: the genome, or DNA. Within genomic DNA sequencing, we tried to decode a region of DNA we were unable to identify initially. As a result, we helped further complete our knowledge about the gap but also learned what proteins/enzymes are associated with it. Our group discovered that our fused contiguous DNA codes for transposase, which move “mobile genetic materials…to another genomic position”[1].  This is important in identifying as transposases have a direct influence on transposons, which “can be widely utilized for the creation of random mutants, which might be exploited and applied further for the…functions of genes” [1] or can cause “preparatory genetic modification”[1]and cause genetic change.