The ability of bacteria to store carbon and energy as intracellular polymers uncouples cell growth and replication from nutrient uptake and provides flexibility in the use of resources as they are available to the cell. The impact of carbon storage on cellular metabolism would be reflected in global transcription patterns. By investigating the transcriptomic effects of genetically disrupting genes involved in the PHB carbon storage cycle, we revealed a relationship between intracellular carbon storage and nitrogen metabolism. This work demonstrates the utility of combining transcriptome sequencing with metabolic pathway mutations for identifying underlying gene regulatory mechanisms.

Presented here is the complete genome sequence of the well-studied Rhizobiales methanotroph Methylosinus trichosporium strain OB3b. The assembly contains 5,183,433 bp, corresponding to a chromosome of 4,508,832 bp and three circular plasmids of 285,280 bp, 209,102 bp, and 180,219 bp.