Abstract
The bacterial strain M5al is a model strain for studying the molecular genetics of N(2)-fixation and molecular engineering of microbial production of platform chemicals 1,3-propanediol and 2,3-butanediol. Here, we present the complete genome sequence of the strain M5al, which belongs to a novel species closely related to Klebsiella michiganensis. M5al secretes plant cell wall-degrading enzymes and colonizes rice roots but does not cause soft rot disease. M5al also produces siderophores and contains the gene clusters for synthesis and transport of yersiniabactin which is a critical virulence factor for Klebsiella pathogens in causing human disease. We propose that the model strain M5al can be genetically modified to study bacterial N(2)-fixation in association with non-legume plants and production of 1,3-propanediol and 2,3-butanediol through degradation of plant cell wall biomass.