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Kingdom: Eubacteria Scientific Name: Rhodospirillum rubrum Image Courtesy of: Trueper and Imhoff Bergey's Manual Trust Image Width: 4 microns Image Technology: TEM |
This microbe likes it in the light and in the dark. It grows anaerobically in the light when it is undergoing photosynthesis. In the dark, it can grow aerobically with oxygen. This microbe is purple-red in color because it contains a pigment called a carotenoid. This carotenoid helps gather light energy for photosynthesis. Unlike green plants, this organism does not produce oxygen as a by product of photosynthesis. Also, the chlorophyll of this bacterium differs from that of the green chlorophyll of plants. This organism contains chlorophyll b, which absorbs longer wavelength light.