Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1

Rhodopseudomonas palustris are phototrophic, purple non-sulfur bacteria commonly found in soils and water. They fix carbon dioxide and nitrogen, produce hydrogen, and degrade diverse biomass-associated aromatic compounds under anaerobic (phototrophic) and aerobic (heterotrophic) conditions. Against the background of general metabolic versatility of the R. palustris species there is considerable strain-to-strain diversity. Strain TIE-1, a genetically tractable bacterium, was isolated from an iron-rich mat from School Street Marsh in Woods Hole, USA. It is able to couple the oxidation of ferrous iron [Fe(II)] to reductive CO(2) fixation by using light energy, a form of photosynthesis that may be very old. The final product of Fe(II) oxidation accumulates exclusively outside the cell in the form of Fe(III) precipitates. Under anaerobic conditions, TIE-1 grows photoautotrophically with Fe(II), H2, or thiosulfate as the electron donor and photoheterotrophically with a variety of organic carbon sources; it also grows chemoheterotrophically in the dark. Phototrophically grown cells contain lamellar intracytoplasmic membranes (adapted from PubMed 16085840). (HAMAP: RHOPT)