A subfamily of bacteria (color bacteria) that are capable of photosynthesis and contain photosynthetic pigments.
From 'chromatin' or 'chroma' (color) + '-oidea' (taxonomic suffix for subfamilies). Established in bacterial taxonomy in the 20th century based on pigmentation characteristics.
These bacteria literally harvest light energy like plants do—they're colored purple, green, or brown because of their photosynthetic pigments, making them some of Earth's most colorful microorganisms.
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