Rhodospirillum centenum SW

Rhodospirillum centenum (also known as Rhodocista centenaria) is a thermotolerant alphaproteobacteria that is closely related to species of Azospirillum. It exhibits a complex life cycle involving differentiation from swim to swarm cells, as well as differentiation into heat and dessication resistant resting cysts. Its optimal growth temperature is 44 degrees Celsius with a maximal growth temperature of 48 degrees Celsius. Cysts can survive temperatures as high as 65 degrees Celsius. It metabolizes a unique set of carbon sources, is unable to use malate or other C 4 dicarboxylic acids as a carbon source, and is also unable to repress photosystem synthesis in the presence of molecular oxygen. Rhodospirillum centenum is capable of efficiently fixing nitrogen under aerobic growth conditions, which has important agricultural implications. R. centenaria is thus a model organism for cyst cellular differentiation in proteobacteria. (EBI Integr8)