Complete genome sequence of Endomicrobium proavitum, a free-living relative of the intracellular symbionts of termite gut flagellates (phylum Elusimicrobia)

Abstract

We sequenced the complete genome of Endomicrobium proavitum strain Rsa215, the first isolate of the class Endomicrobia (phylum Elusimicrobia). It is the closest free-living relative of the endosymbionts of termite gut flagellates and thereby provides an excellent model for studying the evolutionary processes during the establishment of an intracellular symbiosis.