In article <384svu$47b at falcon.ccs.uwo.ca> apeters at julian.uwo.ca (a.a. peters) writes:
>From: apeters at julian.uwo.ca (a.a. peters)
>Subject: Beggiatoa
>Date: 20 Oct 1994 04:51:10 GMT
>Hey there micro fans,
> Does anyone have an idea where Beggiatoa stands presently with
>regards to whether or not it is thought of as an autotroph?
>> I know that since Winogradsky first characterized it this way,
>there's been controversy. (Yes, I *know* that was a longgggg time ago)
> Is it better known as a mixotroph, rather than an chemoautotroph?
>Beggiatoa actually is now better known as a gliding organism which
just happens to be mixotrophic. There are two other gliding genera which also
oxidize sulfur (Thioploca & "Thiospirillopsis") neither are in pure culture. I
believe on the basis of 16S rRNA sequences Beggiatoa is found in the
Flavobacterium-Cytophaga branch of the eubacterial evolutionary tree,
Regards
John
CEB, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
