| Affiliation: | (1) Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road, Institute of Coastal and Marine Sciences, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA;(2) Department of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel;(3) Department of Oceanography, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 1000 Pope Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA;(4) Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Drive, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA;(5) Department of Geology, Rutgers University, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8066, USA;(6) Present address: Institute of Microbiology, Opatovický mlýn, 379 81 T!["rcaron"]("/content/n87xx3hmv9wp233t/xlarge345.gif") ebo!["ncaron"]("/content/n87xx3hmv9wp233t/xlarge328.gif") , Czechia;(7) Present address: MBARI, 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA |
| Abstract: | Seven strains of marine aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs belonging to the genus Erythrobacter were isolated. The strains were characterized regarding their physiological and biochemical properties, 16S rDNA and pufM gene sequences, morphological features, substrate preference, as well as pigment and lipid composition. All strains had functional type-2 reaction centers containing bacteriochlorophyll, served by small, light-harvesting complex 1, and were photosynthetically competent. In addition, large pools of carotenoids were found, but only some of the accessory pigments transfer energy to the reaction centers. All of the isolates were facultative photoheterotrophs. They required an organic carbon substrate for growth; however, they are able to supplement a significant fraction of their metabolic requirements with photosynthetically derived energy.Abbreviations BChl Bacteriochlorophyll - Chl Chlorophyll - Erb. Erythrobacter - Erm. Erythromicrobium - FAMEs Fatty acid methyl esters - IRFRR Infrared fast repetition rate - LH1, LH2 Light-harvesting complex 1 and 2, respectively - Por. Porphyrobacter - PUFAs Polyunsaturated fatty acids - Rsb. Roseobacter - RubisCO Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase - µ Growth rate -  470 Functional cross-section of the photosynthetic unit at 470 nm |
