Rhodopseudomonas palustris

R. palustris is a model bacterium for fundamental studies of photophosphorylation, light harvesting, nitrogen fixation, anaerobic degradation of aromatic compounds, and iron oxidation. The number of options that R. palustris has within the major metabolic modes to take advantage of fluctuating supplies of carbon, nitrogen, electrons, light, and oxygen is unusually large. This makes R. palustris ideal for understanding how microbes integrate metabolic modules for optimal growth.