Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium that forms parasporal crystal proteins at the onset of the sporulation phase of its growth. Typically, the parasporal crystals of Bacillus thuringiensis are deposited against the forespore and develop outside the exosporium and are separated from spores after sporulation. However, in a few cases, such as in B. thringiensis serovar. finitimus strain YBT-020, whose parasporal crystals consist of Cry26Aa and Cry28Aa crystal proteins and are located between the exosporium and the spore coat and remain adhering to the spore after sporulation. We sequenced the complete genome of B. thuringiensis serovar. finitimus strain YBT-020 (CP002508).This is the first genome sequence of B. thuringiensis harboring crystal protein genes, and its availability will facilitate the understanding of evolutionary relationships among Bacillus cereus group organisms. Other Bacillus thuringiensis genomes that were sequenced by us were as follow: YBT-1520, YBT-1518, CT-43, C-15 and HD-1.

       Bacillus subtilis strain Bsn5 (CP002468) was isolated from Amorphophllus konjac calli tissue during the course of Amorphophllus konjac gene transformation. Its 16S rRNA sequence shares 99.0% similarity to that of Bacillus subtilis that has been widely used in agricultural biocontrol field. We sequenced the complete genome of Bacillus subtilis strain BSn5, an isolate showed strong inhibitory activity to Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora, which causes Amorphophallus soft rot disease and affects its industry development.

       Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is the etiologic agent of porcine contagious pleuropneumonia, a cause of considerable world wide economic losses in the swine industry. We sequenced the complete genome of A. pleuropneumoniae, JL03, an isolate of serotype 3 prevalent in China. Furthermore, we sequenced nine genomes of A. pleuropneumoniae reference strains of serovars 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 for the comparative genomics study. Our findings shed more light on genomic features associated with serovar diversity of A. pleuropneumoniae and provide broader insight into both pathogenesis research and clinical/epidemiological application against the severe disease caused by this swine pathogen.

       Haemophilus parasuis is the causative agent of Glässer’s disease, which produces big losses in swine populations worldwide. H. parasuis SH0165, belonging to the dominant serovar 5 in China, is a clinically isolated strain with high-level virulence. We sequenced the first completed genome sequence of this species.