Microbe of the month - Prochlorothrix hollandica
Prochlorothrix hollandica was discovered relatively recently, in 1988, in a freshwater lake in the Netherlands. It is the only known freshwater cyanobacterium that contains chlorophyll b, a pigment typically found in plants rather than bacteria.
Despite its small size and simple structure, Prochlorothrix hollandica is incredibly efficient at photosynthesis, rivaling more complex organisms in its ability to convert sunlight into energy.
Would you like to see Prochlorothrix hollandic in real life? Come to ARTIS-Micropia in April and admire it under the microscope next to the laboratory.