Open AccessPhysiological properties of the thermotolerant photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodospirillum centenum
Author(s) -
StadtwaldDemchick Rebecca,
Turner F. Rudolf,
Gest Howard
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1990.tb13851.x
Subject(s) - desiccation , bacteria , photosynthesis , biological dispersal , phototroph , biology , botany , rhodospirillum rubrum , rhodospirillales , rhodospirillaceae , food science , chemistry , population , demography , sociology , genetics
Rhodospirillum centenum nov. sp., isolated from Thermopolis Hot Springs (Wyoming), is a thermotolerant non‐sulfur purple photosynthetic bacterium that forms desiccation‐ and heat‐resistant cysts under certain nutritional conditions. Phototrophic growth rate is optimal over the temperature range ca. 39–45°C, and the maximum growth temperature is ca. 47°C. The bacterium requires biotin and vitamin B 12 , and grows readily in synthetic media. Growth rate, however, is markedly stimulated by unknown organic compounds in Soytone and similar preparations from soybeans. Dried cysts of R. centenum show high resistance to heating at 55–75°C for 48 h, suggesting that cysts provide a mechanism for survival and species dispersal in natural thermal environments.