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Green sulfur bacteria
 
 
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The green sulfur bacteria are a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of obligately anaerobic
Anaerobic organism

An anaerobic organism is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth and may even die in its presence....
 photoautotrophic bacteria. Most closely related to the nonetheless distant Bacteroidetes
Bacteroidetes

The phylum Bacteroidetes is composed of three large classes of bacteria that are widely distributed in the environment, including in soil, in sediments, sea water and in the guts of animals....
, they are accordingly assigned their own phylum
Phylum

A phylum "Phylum" is adopted from the Greek phylai, the clan-based voting groups in Greek city-states. is a taxonomic rank below Kingdom and above Class ....
.

Green sulfur bacteria are non-motile (except Chloroherpeton thalassium, which may glide
Bacterial gliding

Bacterial gliding is a process whereby a bacterium can move under its own power. This process does not involve the use of flagella, which is a more common means of motility in bacteria....
) and come in spheres, rods, and spirals. Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis

File:Seawifs global biosphere.jpgPhotosynthesis is a metabolic pathway that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight....
 is achieved using bacteriochlorophyll
Bacteriochlorophyll

Bacteriochlorophylls are photosynthetic pigments that occur in various phototrophic bacterium. They are related to chlorophylls, which are the primary pigments in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria....
 (BChl) c, d, or e, in addition to BChl a and chlorophyll
Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from Greek language: ?????? and f????? ....
 a, in chlorosome
Chlorosome

A Chlorosome is a photosynthetic antenna complex found in green sulfur bacteria and some green filamentous anoxygenic phototrophs . They differ from other antenna complexes by their large size and lack of protein matrix supporting the photosynthetic pigments....
s attached to the membrane.






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Encyclopedia


The green sulfur bacteria are a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of obligately anaerobic
Anaerobic organism

An anaerobic organism is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth and may even die in its presence....
 photoautotrophic bacteria. Most closely related to the nonetheless distant Bacteroidetes
Bacteroidetes

The phylum Bacteroidetes is composed of three large classes of bacteria that are widely distributed in the environment, including in soil, in sediments, sea water and in the guts of animals....
, they are accordingly assigned their own phylum
Phylum

A phylum "Phylum" is adopted from the Greek phylai, the clan-based voting groups in Greek city-states. is a taxonomic rank below Kingdom and above Class ....
.

Green sulfur bacteria are non-motile (except Chloroherpeton thalassium, which may glide
Bacterial gliding

Bacterial gliding is a process whereby a bacterium can move under its own power. This process does not involve the use of flagella, which is a more common means of motility in bacteria....
) and come in spheres, rods, and spirals. Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis

File:Seawifs global biosphere.jpgPhotosynthesis is a metabolic pathway that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight....
 is achieved using bacteriochlorophyll
Bacteriochlorophyll

Bacteriochlorophylls are photosynthetic pigments that occur in various phototrophic bacterium. They are related to chlorophylls, which are the primary pigments in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria....
 (BChl) c, d, or e, in addition to BChl a and chlorophyll
Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from Greek language: ?????? and f????? ....
 a, in chlorosome
Chlorosome

A Chlorosome is a photosynthetic antenna complex found in green sulfur bacteria and some green filamentous anoxygenic phototrophs . They differ from other antenna complexes by their large size and lack of protein matrix supporting the photosynthetic pigments....
s attached to the membrane. They use sulfide
Sulfide

The term sulfide refers to several types of chemical compounds containing sulfur in its lowest oxidation number of −2.Formally, "sulfide" is the dianion, S2−, which exists in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions formed from H2S or alkali metal salts such as Li2S, Na2S, and K2...
 ions, hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
 or ferrous iron as an electron donor
Electron donor

An electron donor is a chemical entity that donates electrons to another compound. It is a reducing agent that, by virtue of its donating electrons, is itself oxidized in the process....
 and the process is mediated by the type I reaction centre and Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex
Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex

The Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex is a water soluble complex and was the first pigment-protein complex that has been structure analyzed by x-ray spectroscopy [Fenna & Matthews, 1975]....
. Elemental sulfur
Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element that has the atomic number 16. It is denoted with the symbol S. It is an abundant Valence non-metal....
 deposited outside the cell may be further oxidized. By contrast, the photosynthesis in plants uses water as electron donor and produces oxygen.

Chlorobium
Chlorobium

Chlorobium is a genus of green sulfur bacteria. They are photolithotrophic oxidizers of sulfur and most notably utilise a noncyclic electron transport chain to reduce NAD+....
 tepidum has emerged as a model organism
Model organism

A model organism is a species that is extensively studied to understand particular biology phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms....
 for the group, and although only ten genome
Genome

In classical genetics, the genome of a diploid organism including eukarya refers to a full set of chromosomes or genes in a gamete; thereby, a regular somatic cell contains two full sets of genomes....
s have been sequenced, these are quite comprehensive of the family's biodiversity. Their 2-3 Mb genomes encode
Genetic code

The genetic code is the set of rules by which information encoded in genetic material is Translation into proteins by living cell s. The code defines a mapping between tri-nucleotide sequences, called codons, and amino acids....
 1750-2800 gene
Gene

A gene is the basic unit of heredity in a living organism. All living things depend on genes. Genes hold the information to build and maintain their cell and pass genetic trait to offspring....
s, 1400-1500 of which are common to all strains. The apparent absence of two-component histidine
Histidine

Histidine is one of the 20 standard amino acids present in proteins. In the nutritional sense, in humans, histidine is considered an essential amino acid, but only in children....
-kinase
Kinase

In chemistry and biochemistry, a kinase, alternatively known as a phosphotransferase, is a type of enzyme that transfers phosphate groups from High-energy phosphate donor molecules, such as adenosine triphosphate, to specific target molecules ; the process is termed phosphorylation ...
s and response regulators suggest limited phenotypic plasticity
Phenotypic plasticity

The ability of an organism with a given genotype to change its phenotype in response to changes in the environment is called phenotypic plasticity....
. Their small dependence on organic molecule transporters and transcription factor
Transcription factor

In the field of molecular biology, a transcription factor is a protein that binds to specific DNA sequence and thereby controls the transfer of genetic information from DNA to RNA....
s also indicate that these organisms are adapted to a narrow range of energy-limited conditions, an ecology
Ecology

Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
 shared with the simpler cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria or Cyanophyta, is a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis....
, Prochlorococcus
Prochlorococcus

Prochlorococcus is a genus of very small Ocean cyanobacteria with an unusual pigmentation belonging to photosynthetic picoplankton. It is probably the most abundant photosynthesis organism on Earth....
 and Synechococcus
Synechococcus

Synechococcus is a unicellular cyanobacterium that is very widespread in the ocean. Its size varies from 0.8 micrometre to 1.5 ?m....


A species of green sulfur bacteria has been found living near a black smoker
Black smoker

A black smoker or sea vent, is a type of hydrothermal vent found on the ocean floor. They are formed in fields hundreds of meters wide when superheating water from below Earth's Crust comes through the ocean floor....
 off the coast of Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 at a depth of 2,500 meters beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
. At this depth, the bacterium, designated GSB1, lives off the dim glow of the thermal vent since no sunlight can penetrate to that depth.

See also

  • Anoxic event
    Anoxic event

    Oceanic anoxic events or anoxic events occur when the Earth's oceans become completely depleted of oxygen below the surface levels. Although anoxic events have not happened for millions of years, the geological record shows that they happened many times in the past....
  • Purple sulfur bacteria
    Purple sulfur bacteria

    The purple sulfur bacteria are a group of Proteobacteria capable of photosynthesis, collectively referred to as purple bacteria. They are Anaerobic organism or microaerophilic, and are often found in hot springs or stagnant water....

External links


Footnotes