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The Family Heliobacteriaceae

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Book cover The Prokaryotes

Abstract

Heliobacteria are anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes and are distinct from all other anoxygenic phototrophs in many ways. These include their phylogeny, synthesis of the unique photopigment bacteriochlorophyll ., production of heat-resistant endospores, and their primarily soil habitat. Five genera of heliobacteria have been described, including a total of 11 species. Heliobacteria are obligate anaerobes, and most species are capable of both phototrophic and chemotrophic growth. Two distinct phylogenetic clades of heliobacteria exist, including a group that inhabits neutral pH soils and a group that inhabits alkaline soils and soda lake ecosystems. As a group, heliobacteria are distant relatives of endospore-forming bacteria of the Bacillaceae and Clostridiaceae. The genome of the thermophile Heliobacterium modesticaldum lacks genes for autotrophy but contains genes encoding key endospore-specific proteins and nitrogenase; the heliobacterial photosynthesis gene cluster encodes the most streamlined photosystem of any known anoxygenic phototroph. Heliobacteria are widespread in paddy soils where their strong nitrogen-fixing capacities may benefit rice plants. The photoheterotrophic lifestyle of the heliobacteria may also benefit from such associations by receiving organic carbon from plant exudates.

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Acknowledgments

This chapter was supported in part by grant EF0950550 from the US National Science Foundation to MTM.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, IN, 46953-4974, USA

    W. Matthew Sattley

  2. Department of Microbiology, Southern Illinois University, 1125 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL, 62901-6508, USA

    Michael T. Madigan

Authors
  1. W. Matthew Sattley
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  2. Michael T. Madigan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. Matthew Sattley .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Eugene Rosenberg

  2. Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Edward F. DeLong

  3. Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Edward F. DeLong

  4. Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Stephen Lory

  5. Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany

    Erko Stackebrandt

  6. Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Fabiano Thompson

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Sattley, W.M., Madigan, M.T. (2014). The Family Heliobacteriaceae . In: Rosenberg, E., DeLong, E.F., Lory, S., Stackebrandt, E., Thompson, F. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30120-9_362

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