In comparison with three other genomes from the genus Pontibacter, we found that only strain X14-1 harbors genes encoding D-fructokinase, which is essential for sucrose and fructose utilization, and this is consistent with previous experimental results2. Beta-galactosidase, which is essential for strain X14-1 to use lactose as an alternative carbon source by catalyzing lactose to galactose and glucose, is specific to strain X14-1 compared with other Pontibacter strains. Although comparative analysis revealed a common dispersion of cellobiose glucohydrolase in Pontibacter, enzymes responsible for degrading cellulose to cellobiose are only distributed in strain X14-1. Starch could be degraded to amylose and alpha-D-galactose-1-phosphate, which is an intermediate in the production of UDP-glucose that could link pentose and glucuronate interconversion. This is important for the utilization of D-galactose as a carbon resource. Mannose can enter glycolysis through beta-D-fructose-6-phosphate with the help of hexokinase and mannose-6-phosphate isomerase, which could be encoded by genes in strain X14-1. The ability to utilize versatile sugars as described above (Fig. 3) could partly explain how strain X14-1 survives in an infertile desert.