Towards a phylogeny of phototrophic purple sulfur bacteria—16S rRNA oligonucleotide cataloguing of 11 species of Chromatiaceae

✍ Scribed by Valerie J. Fowler; Norbert Pfennig; Wolfgang Schubert; Erko Stackebrandt

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1984
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 601 KB
• Volume: 139
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0302-8933
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00408384

✦ Synopsis

11 species from 7 genera of Chromatiaceae, depositing sulfur globules inside their cells, were analyzed by comparative oligonucleotide cataloguing of their 16S ribosomal RNA in order to determine the genealogical relationships to each other and to other Gram-negative phototrophic purple and non-phototrophic eubacteria. The rRNA data reveal that members of Chromatium, Amoebobacter, Lamprocystis, Thiocapsa, Thiocystis, Thiodictyon and Thiospirillum form a phylogenetically coherent grouping. The species investigated do not in each case cluster according to their present classification. Organisms storing sulfur inside their cells are moderately related to but clearly separated from members of Ectothiorhodospira, with which they form one of several sublines of group III of phototrophic purple bacteria as defined by Gibson et al. (1979).