Anoxygenic phototrophic Chloroflexota member uses a Type I reaction center
AbstractPhototrophic bacteria within the Chloroflexota phylum are puzzling in their evolutionary origin. Previously known phototrophic Chloroflexota members use a Type II photosynthetic reaction center for light energy conversion but contain other photosynthesis machinery associated with Type I reaction center-utilizing phototrophs. We sampled an iron-rich boreal lake at the IISD-Experimental Lakes Area and enriched ‘Candidatus Chlorohelix allophototropha’, a phototrophic Chloroflexota member that uses a Type I reaction center. Phylogenomic evidence suggests that ancestors of ‘Ca. Chx. allophototropha’ served as a bridge for historic phototrophy gene exchange within the phylum. The Chloroflexota now represents the only bacterial phylum outside the Cyanobacteria where both major classes of photosynthetic reaction center occur and can serve as a model system to explore fundamental questions about the evolution of photosynthesis.