Summary
Heliobacteria are anoxygenic phototrophs that contain bacteriochlorophyll g as their sole chlorophyll pigment. These organisms are primarily soil residents and are phylogenetically related to Gram-positive bacteria, in particular to the endospore-forming Bacillus/Clostridium line. Some species of heliobacteria produce heat resistant endospores containing dipicolinic acid and elevated Ca2+ levels. Heliobacteria can grow photoheterotrophically on a limited group of organic substrates and chemotrophically (anaerobically) in darkness by pyruvate or lactate fermentation; they are also active nitrogen-fixers. Their photosynthetic system resembles that of photosystem I of green plants but is simpler, containing a small antenna closely associated with the reaction center located in the cytoplasmic membrane; no chlorosomes typical of the green sulfur bacteria or differentiated internal membranes typical of purple bacteria are found in the heliobacteria. Heliobacteria are apparently widely distributed in rice soils and occasionally found in other soils. The ecology of heliobacteria may be tightly linked to that of rice plants, and the ability of heliobacteria to produce endospores probably has significant survival value in the highly variable habitat of rice soils. The unique assemblage of properties shown by the heliobacteria has necessitated creation of a new taxonomic family of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria, the Heliobacteriaceae, to accommodate organisms of this type.
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This chapter is dedicated to Professor Howard Gest within whose laboratory the heliobacteria were first discovered and whose infectious enthusiasm for the photosynthetic bacteria has stimulated many current workers in this field.
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Madigan, M.T., Ormerod, J.G. (1995). Taxonomy, Physiology and Ecology of Heliobacteria. In: Blankenship, R.E., Madigan, M.T., Bauer, C.E. (eds) Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47954-0_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47954-0_2
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