It is proposed to sequence the genome of the iron(III)-reducing bacterium, Geobacter sp. strain FRC-32, isolated from the uranium-contaminated subsurface of the U.S. Department of Energy NABIR Field Research Center (FRC), Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  Strain FRC-32 represents an important environment, the radioactive metal-contaminated subsurface, from which members of the Geobacteraceae have been understudied in pure culture and no genome sequence is available.  Several recent studies have verified using cultivation-independent methods that the Geobacteraceae are predominant in subsurface environments where dissimilatory metal reduction is important to the remediation of uranium and other contaminants.  Using the 16S rRNA gene as a molecular marker, strain FRC-32 shares 96 % sequence identity to Geobacter bremensis and > 99 % sequence identity to phylotypes detected in the FRC subsurface using cultivation-independent techniques,  but it appears to have important physiological differences.  Phylotype sequences essentially identical to strain FRC-32 were shown to increase in abundance in parallel with iron(III) and uranium(VI) reduction activity during an in situ bioremediation experiment conducted in the FRC subsurface (North et al., 2004).  Distinct physiological characteristics of strain FRC-32 are that it does not grow on many soluble electron acceptors such as ferric citrate or anthraquinone disulfonate (AQDS).  Sequencing the genome of strain FRC-32 will provide further insights into the metabolic capabilities of the Geobacteraceae that may be specific to subsurface members.  The genome sequence of strain FRC-32 will aid in the testing of in silico models for the remediation of metal contaminants which have been developed under the Genomes to Life Program using Geobacter strains isolated from surficial aquatic sediments.