Rhodobium is a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria

Purple bacteria

Purple bacteria or purple photosynthetic bacteria are proteobacteria that are phototrophic, that is capable of producing energy through photosynthesis...

 that reproduces by budding

Budding

Budding is a form of asexual reproduction in which a new organism grows on another one. The new organism remains attached as it grows, separating from the parent organism only when it is mature. Since the reproduction is asexual, the newly created organism is a clone and is genetically identical...

. The cells are rod-shaped and reproduce by budding

Budding

Budding is a form of asexual reproduction in which a new organism grows on another one. The new organism remains attached as it grows, separating from the parent organism only when it is mature. Since the reproduction is asexual, the newly created organism is a clone and is genetically identical...

, as in many other members of the Rhizobiales

Rhizobiales

Rhizobiales is an order of alpha proteobacteria. They are gram-negative.The rhizobia, which fix nitrogen and are symbiotic with plant roots, appear in several different families here. The Bradyrhizobiaceae, Hyphomicrobiaceae, Phyllobacteriaceae, and Rhizobiaceae are the four families that contain...

. RNA trees separate it from the others, however, and it is given its own family. R. orientis, the type species, was isolated from seawater in 1995. It is capable of photosynthetic hydrogen production via the nitrogenase enzyme.