[Photosynthesizing bacteria from the Wanda Lake (Antarctica)]

Photoautotrophic bacteria growing under anaerobic conditions in the light at 28 degrees C with carbon dioxide as a sole source of carbon were isolated from the ooze of the Vanda Lake at a depth of 68 m. The cells are rounded gram-negative rods, and form a dark-red pigment. The morphology and physiology of the cells were studied as well as absorption spectra of the cells and isolated pigments. The main maxima of absorption were found to be shifted to a short-wavelength region of the spectrum. This fact and peculiar conditions of their habitat as well as some other characteristics are the reasons why these bacteria are classed as a new species Chomatium vanda. As far as we know, this is the first description of photosynthetic bacteria inhabiting the Vanda Lake in the Antarctic.