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Description of EctothiorhodospiraceaeAmong the phototrophic purple sulfur bacteria, these were initially distinguished because they deposit elemental sulfur globules outside the cells, unlike the nEndothiorhodaceae that deposit elemental sulfur inside their cells. Subsequently the extrmely halophilic species were segregated from Ectothiorhodospira and assigned to Halorhodospira. Most species are rods, most often slightly bent rods, vibrios or spirilla that during oxidation of sulfide produce elemental sulfur which is deposited outside the cells; one species, Ectothiorhodospira vacuolata, produces gas vesicles. All of the phototrophic Ectothiorhodospiraceae produce characteristic internal membrane stacks that may constitute a large fraction of the internal volume of these cells.