# Complete Genome Report of a Hydrocarbon-Degrading _Sphingobium yanoikuyae_ S72
## 1 Introduction  
Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, commonly known as BTEX, are monoaromatic hydrocarbons that are major components of gasolines [1]. These compounds are said to be the most common contaminant of soils and ground water owing to frequent leakage and accidental spillage [2]. On the other hand, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are important pollutants which always find their way into the environment through various human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, oil spillages, and sometimes during vehicle repairs [3]. The release of PAH and BTEX to surrounding air is worrisome because of the associated hazards on people, animal, and plants [2]. Exposures to fossil fuels, BTEX, and other hydrocarbon contaminants is known to disrupt agricultural lands, contaminate the surrounding air, and may induce cancer and other mutations in aquatic organisms [1, 4]. The deleterious effects of the release of BTEX and other hydrocarbons to the environmentsmake remediation processes inevitable. Several remediation processes have been employed for the cleaning of BTEX and PAHs from a contaminated environment. Among such approaches are the use of chemicals and biological methods. Biological approaches are effective measures for the cleaning of sites contaminated by aromatic hydrocarbons [5; 6]. The degradation of hydrocarbon is hampered by their different molecular structures [7]. However, some microbes possessed the capacity to degrade both high and low molecular weight hydrocarbons [8]. Similarly, bacteria and other microbes have been demonstrated as effective tools in the cleaning of BTEX-polluted environments [6]. These bacteria with good potentials for the degradation of BTEX and PAHs could be tools for the modern bioremediation of areas contaminated by hydrocarbons. Bacteria that have been employed for bioremediation purposes include member of the genera Stenotrophomonas, Pseudomonas, Franconibacter, Bacillus, Enterobacter, and Sphingomonad among others [9; 10; 11]. Although there were arrays of bacteria with the capacity to grow in and degrade aromatic hydrocarbons, some genera have continuously been reported to be highly important. One of such genera is the genus Sphingomonas [10]. Sphingomonas and some other genera are commonly referred to as the Sphingomonads. The Sphingomonads belongs to the family Sphingomonadaceae which was proposed by [PERSON] et al., 1990 [12; 13]. The family was later subdivided by [PERSON] et al. [14; 15] into four genera: Sphingomonas, Sphingobium, Novosphingobium, and Sphingopyxis. Members of these genera are commonly found in nature as endophyte and rhizosphere' bacteria [16]. There is an increased attention on these genera in recent times because they play important roles in the remediation of pollutants. They do so by using these pollutants as substrates for growth [17]. Among the Sphingomonads with promising potential for both biodegradation and bioremediation of pollutants are the Sphingobium and Sphingomonas [18; 19]. Many Sphingobium species have been reported to have the ability to degrade different pollutants including hydrocarbons [16]. The significant roles played by Sphingobium in the degradation of hydrocarbon emphasize the importance of continuous studies on them. Such studies can further unravel yet-to-be-identified mechanisms employed by members of this genus in the utilization of hydrocarbons as substrates for growth. Genome sequence analysis has been used to unravel many underlining factors responsible for bacteria behavior. To understand more about the biology of _Sphingobium yanoikuyae_ S72 and its detailed architecture with respect to the degradation of a hydrocarbon, we sequenced and analyzed the complete genome sequence of _Sphingobium yanoikuyae_ S72. In this study, _Sphingobium yanoikuyae_ S72 was isolated from the rhizosphere of sorghum sample collected from the northeastern part of Mexico (25.983333 latitude, 198.1 longitude, and altitude 120 m a.s.l.). This strain grew effectively in aromatic hydrocarbon supplemented medium.