In some forms of photosynthetic bacteria, a chromatophore is a pigmented(coloured), membrane-associated vesicle used to perform photosynthesis. They contain different coloured pigments.

Chromatophores contain bacteriochlorophyll pigments and carotenoids.[1] In purple bacteria, such as Rhodospirillum rubrum, the light-harvesting proteins are intrinsic to the chromatophore membranes. However, in green sulfur bacteria, they are arranged in specialised antenna complexes called chlorosomes.[2]

References

  1. ^ Salton, MR (1987). "Bacterial membrane proteins". Microbiological sciences. 4 (4): 100–5. PMID 3153178.
  2. ^ Frigaard, NU; Bryant, DA (2004). "Seeing green bacteria in a new light: genomics-enabled studies of the photosynthetic apparatus in green sulfur bacteria and filamentous anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria". Archives of Microbiology. 182 (4): 265–76. doi:10.1007/s00203-004-0718-9. PMID 15340781.


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