Researchers decode genetics of rare photosynthetic bacterium

A bacterium that harvests far-red light by making a rare form of chlorophyll (chlorophyll d) has revealed its genetic secrets, according to a team of researchers who recently sequenced the bacteria’s genome.

The researchers, from Arizona State University and Washington University, St. Louis, report in the current online edition (Feb. 4) of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that they have sequenced the genome of the cyanobacterium, Acaryochloris marina, which through its production of chlorophyll d can absorb “red edge,” near infrared long wavelength light -- light that is invisible to the naked eye. Acaryochloris marina has a massive genome (8.3 million base pairs) and is among the largest of 55 cyanobacterial strains in the world. It is the first chlorophyll-d containing organism to be sequenced. ...............

There is a bioenergy link to this work, said Touchman, who is a member of ASU’s Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis. It could be used for crops that are turned into fuels or to generate biomass.

Read the full story