About: Chromohalobacter beijerinckii

Chromohalobacter beijerinckii is a motile, rod-like, salt-loving, Gram-negative soil bacterium, 0.4–0.6 μm by 1.8–2.5 μm. The bacterium was isolated in 1935 by from fermented salted beans preserved in brine. Hof named it Pseudomonas beijerinckii and identified it as the organism responsible for the purple color of that food. The pigment was the calcium salt of tetrahydroxy-p-benzoquinone Ca2C6O6, derived from the beans' myo-inositol. The bacterium thrives in media with salt (NaCl) concentrations ranging from 0.35% to 25%; the optimum growth occurs at 8 to 10% NaCl, pH 7.5, and 35 °C.