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The Prokaryotes pp 784–810Cite as

The Genera Beggiatoa and Thioploca

  • SECTION 3.3 Gamma Subclass
  • Reference work entry
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Introduction

Filamentous sulfur-oxidizing bacteria of the genera Beggiatoa and Thioploca are some of the largest and most conspicuous bacteria in nature (Schulz and Jørgensen, 2001). Their white or yellow color, their filamentous morphology, the large width and length of their filaments, and their growth pattern in flocs and mats on sediment surfaces makes them highly conspicuous even to the unaided eye. The two genera are distinguished by a single morphological character: Thioploca filaments occur in bundles surrounded by a common sheath, whereas Beggiatoa filaments do not form this structure and occur as individual filaments. All Beggiatoa and Thioploca strains have the ability to oxidize sulfide to elemental sulfur that is stored as intracellular sulfur globules, which make the cells highly refractory and conspicuous under the microscope. This characteristic, together with the absence of photosynthetic pigments, has distinguished the genera Beggiatoa and Thioplocaas filamentous...

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Authors
  1. Andreas Teske
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  2. Douglas C. Nelson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota, 196, Minneapolis, MN, 55455-0312, USA

    Martin Dworkin

  2. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University Medical School, 299 Campus Drive, Fairchild, Stanford, CA, 94305-5124, USA

    Stanley Falkow

  3. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Ramat-Aviv, Israel

    Eugene Rosenberg

  4. Department of Microbiology, Technical University Munich, 80290, Munich, Germany

    Karl-Heinz Schleifer

  5. DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH, Mascheroder Weg 1b, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany

    Erko Stackebrandt

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Teske, A., Nelson, D.C. (2006). The Genera Beggiatoa and Thioploca. In: Dworkin, M., Falkow, S., Rosenberg, E., Schleifer, KH., Stackebrandt, E. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30746-X_27

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