In addition, R. sphaeroides has been shown to be able to detoxify a number of metal oxides and oxyanions and is the subject of ongoing studies in this area, in keeping with the direct mission of the DOE in bioremediation. Additional investigations over many years have led to increased knowledge of tetrapyrrole and carotenoid biosynthesis, which have broad applicability. This organism is also the first known free-living bacteriumto be able to utilize the regulatory systems associated with Quorum-Sensing to reversibly initiate the development of a community growth form, perhaps associated with biofilm formation, and a dispersed growth mode, depending upon the quality of the growth medium. These studies are of critical concern to studies of bioremediation and biotechnology. Other very recent studies revealing how an electron transport chain can "communicate" with a variety of genetic elements has led to the development of a new paradigm for gene regulation. |
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