H. Gest, A SERENDIPIC LEGACY - ESMARCH,ERWIN ISOLATION OF THE FIRST PHOTOSYNTHETIC BACTERIUM IN PURE CULTURE, Photosynthesis research, 46(3), 1995, pp. 473-478
During the 1880's, Erwin von Esmarch was a junior associate ('Assisten
t') of Robert Koch studying bacteria of medical significance. In 1887,
he isolated the first example of spiral-shaped bacteria in pure cultu
re, from the dry residue of a dead mouse that he had suspended sometim
e earlier in Berlin tap-water. Under certain conditions, colonies of t
he organism were the color of red wine, and this led Esmarch to name t
he bacterium Spirillum rubrum. Twenty years later, Hans Molisch demons
trated that S. rubrum, an apparent heterotroph, was in fact a non-oxyg
enic purple photosynthetic bacterium, and it was renamed Rhodospirillu
m rubrum. Esmarch was a careful investigator and his classic paper of
1887 details the serendipitous isolation and general characteristics o
f the first pure culture of an anoxyphototroph, which later played a p
rominent role as an experimental system for study of basic aspects of
bacterial photosynthesis. This report includes an English translation
of his original paper (in German), a commentary on the historical sign
ificance of 'Esmarch's spirillum', and a summary of Esmarch's career.