| Chlorobium | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Chlorobiota |
| Class: | "Chlorobia" |
| Order: | Chlorobiales |
| Family: | Chlorobiaceae |
| Genus: | Chlorobium Nadson 1906 |
| Type species | |
| Chlorobium limicola Nadson 1906
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| Some species | |
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See text | |
| Synonyms | |
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Chlorobium is a genus of green sulfur bacteria. They are photolithotrophic oxidizers of sulfur and most notably utilise a noncyclic electron transport chain to reduce NAD+. Photosynthesis is achieved using a Type 1 Reaction Centre using bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a. Two photosynthetic antenna complexes aid in light absorption: the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex ("FMO", also containing BChl a), and the chlorosomes which employ mostly BChl c, d, or e. Hydrogen sulfide is used as an electron source and carbon dioxide its carbon source.[1]
Chlorobium species exhibit a dark green color; in a Winogradsky column, the green layer often observed is composed of Chlorobium. This genus lives in strictly anaerobic conditions below the surface of a body of water, commonly the anaerobic zone of a eutrophic lake.[1]
Chlorobium aggregatum is a species which exists in a symbiotic relationship with a colorless, nonphotosynthetic bacteria. This species looks like a bundle of green bacteria, attached to a central rod-like cell which can move around with a flagellum. The green, outer bacteria use light to oxidize sulfide into sulfate. The inner cell, which is not able to perform photosynthesis, reduces the sulfate into sulfide. These bacteria divide in unison, giving the structure a multicellular appearance which is highly unusual in bacteria.[2]
Chlorobium species are thought to have played an important part in mass extinction events on Earth. If the oceans turn anoxic (due to the shutdown of ocean circulation) then Chlorobium would be able to out compete other photosynthetic life. They would produce huge quantities of methane and hydrogen sulfide which would cause global warming and acid rain. This would have huge consequences for other oceanic organisms and also for terrestrial organisms. Evidence for abundant Chlorobium populations is provided by chemical fossils found in sediments deposited at the Cretaceous mass extinction.