Rhodospirillaceae Explained

The Rhodospirillaceae are a family of Pseudomonadota. The majority are purple nonsulfur bacteria, producing energy through photosynthesis; originally all purple nonsulfur bacteria were included here.^{[1] [2]}

They are often found in anaerobic aquatic environments, such as mud and stagnant water, although they are able to survive in air.^[1]

This family also includes Magnetospirillum, which contains tiny chains of magnetite.^[1] These let it sense the Earth's magnetic field, which runs downwards as well as north or south, to return to the bottom of a pond (magnetotaxis). Similar magnetite chains found in Martian meteorites have been suggested as evidence of life on Mars.^[3]

Notes and References

1. George M. Garrity, Don J. Brenner, Noel R. Krieg, James T. Staley (Hrsg.): Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology. Vol. 2: The Proteobacteria Part C: The Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Epsilonproteabacteria. 2. Auflage. Springer, New York 2005,
2. Martin Dworkin, Stanley Falkow, Eugene Rosenberg, Karl-Heinz Schleifer, Erko Stackebrandt: The Prokaryotes, A Handbook of the Biology of Bacteria. Volume 5: Proteobacteria: Alpha and Beta Subclasses
3. Peter R. Buseck, Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski, Bertrand Devouard, Richard B. Frankel, Martha R. McCartney, Paul A. Midgley, Mihály Pósfai, and Matthew Weyland: Magnetite morphology and life on Mars In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2001 November 20; 98(24): 13490–13495. Online