General Information: Bacteria belonging to the Rhodobacter group are metabolically versatile as they are able to grow using photosynthesis, chemosynthesis, and usually can grow under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. The most extensively studied bacteria with regards to its photosynthetic capabilities which includes the structure, function and regulation of its photosynthetic membranes, its mechanisms of CO2 and nitrogen fixation, cytochrome diversity and its electron transport systems. It can grow aerobically and anaerobically in the light and anaerobically in the dark. It produces an intracytoplasmic membrane system consisting of membrane invaginations where the light harvesting complexes (LH1 and LH2) and the reaction center are synthesized. Furthermore, it has the ability to detoxify metal oxides and oxyanions and hence has a role in bioremediation.