生物谷：美国黄石国家公园是一片神奇的土地。研究人员在这里发现了一种罕见细菌，它们能像绿色植物一样把光能转化成维持自身生存的生物能。在能源问题日益突出的今天，这种细菌的发现有助于人们更好地开发利用光能。
宾夕法尼亚州立大学生物技术教授唐·布赖恩特及其研究小组说，这种细菌嗜热，属于酸杆菌。相关研究报告发表在27日出版的《科学》杂志上。
研究人员说，目前虽然人们已知还有其他能够生成叶绿素的细菌，但新发现的细菌与它们有很大不同。
这种细菌长有许多触角，叫做集光绿色体。每个触角含有大量叶绿素。正是这些叶绿素使得细菌能够在菌苔上同其他细菌争夺阳光，维持生存。这种细菌是人们迄今发现的第一种含有集光绿色体的喜氧微生物。
研究人员在分析这种细菌的基因序列时发现，与它亲缘关系最近的是生活在黄石公园猛犸温泉以及中国西藏和泰国的温泉中的一些嗜热细菌。（人民网）
原始出处:
Science 27 July 2007:
Vol. 317. no. 5837, pp. 523 - 526
DOI: 10.1126/science.1143236
Candidatus Chloracidobacterium thermophilum: An Aerobic Phototrophic Acidobacterium
Donald A. Bryant,1* Amaya M. Garcia Costas,1 Julia A. Maresca,1 Aline Gomez Maqueo Chew,1 Christian G. Klatt,2 Mary M. Bateson,2 Luke J. Tallon,3 Jessica Hostetler,3 William C. Nelson,3 John F. Heidelberg,3,4 David M. Ward2
Only five bacterial phyla with members capable of chlorophyll (Chl)–based phototrophy are presently known. Metagenomic data from the phototrophic microbial mats of alkaline siliceous hot springs in Yellowstone National Park revealed the existence of a distinctive bacteriochlorophyll (BChl)–synthesizing, phototrophic bacterium. A highly enriched culture of this bacterium grew photoheterotrophically, synthesized BChls a and c under oxic conditions, and had chlorosomes and type 1 reaction centers. "Candidatus Chloracidobacterium thermophilum" is a BChl-producing member of the poorly characterized phylum Acidobacteria.
1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
2 Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Post Office Box 173120, Bozeman, MT 59717–3120, USA.
3 The Institute for Genomic Research, 9712 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
4 Department of Biology, University of Southern California, Wrigley Marine Science Center, Post Office Box 5069, Avalon, CA 90704, USA.
Present address: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Present address: Department of Microbiology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dab14@psu.edu
