Project description:The genus Lactobacillus contains over 100 different species that were traditionally considered to be uniformly non-motile. However, at least twelve motile species are known to exist in the L. salivarius clade of this genus. Of these, Lactobacillus rumnis is the only motile species that is also autochthonous to the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. The genomes of two L. ruminis strains, ATCC25644 (human isolate, non-motile) and ATCC27782 (bovine isolate, motile) were sequenced and annotated to identify the genes responsible for flagellum biogenesis and chemotaxis in this species. Transcriptome analysis revealed that motility genes were transcribed at a significantly higher level in motile L. ruminis ATCC27782 than in non-motile ATCC25644 during the motile growth phase.