Bacteriochlorophylls are photosynthetic pigment

Photosynthetic pigment

A photosynthetic pigment is a pigment that is present in chloroplasts or photosynthetic bacteria and captures the light energy necessary for photosynthesis.- Plants :...

s that occur in various phototroph

Phototroph

Phototrophs are the organisms that carry out photosynthesis to acquire energy. They use the energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic material to be utilized in cellular functions such as biosynthesis and respiration.Most phototrophs are autotrophs, also known as...

ic bacteria. They were discovered by Von Neil in 1932 . They are related to chlorophyll

Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...

s, which are the primary pigments in plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

s, algae, and cyanobacteria. Groups that contain bacteriochlorophyll conduct photosynthesis, but do not produce oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

. They use wavelengths of light not absorbed by plants or Cyanobacteria. Different groups contain different types of bacteriochlorophyll:

Pigment	Bacterial group	in vivo infrared absorption maximum (nm)
Bacteriochlorophyll a	Purple bacteria Purple bacteria Purple bacteria or purple photosynthetic bacteria are proteobacteria that are phototrophic, that is capable of producing energy through photosynthesis...  (= Proteobacteria Proteobacteria The Proteobacteria are a major group of bacteria. They include a wide variety of pathogens, such as Escherichia, Salmonella, Vibrio, Helicobacter, and many other notable genera.... ), Chloracidobacterium thermophilum	805, 830-890
Bacteriochlorophyll b	Purple bacteria Purple bacteria Purple bacteria or purple photosynthetic bacteria are proteobacteria that are phototrophic, that is capable of producing energy through photosynthesis...	835-850, 1020-1040
Bacteriochlorophyll c	Green sulfur bacteria Green sulfur bacteria The green sulfur bacteria are a family of obligately anaerobic photoautotrophic bacteria. Most closely related to the distant Bacteroidetes, they are accordingly assigned their own phylum.... , Chloroflexi Chloroflexi Chloroflexi is one of four classes of bacteria in the phylum Chloroflexi, known as filamentous green non-sulfur bacteria. They produce energy from light and are named for their green pigment, usually found in photosynthetic bodies called chlorosomes.... , C. thermophilum	745-755
Bacteriochlorophyll cs	Chloroflexi	740
Bacteriochlorophyll d	Green sulfur bacteria Green sulfur bacteria The green sulfur bacteria are a family of obligately anaerobic photoautotrophic bacteria. Most closely related to the distant Bacteroidetes, they are accordingly assigned their own phylum....	705-740
Bacteriochlorophyll e	Green sulfur bacteria Green sulfur bacteria The green sulfur bacteria are a family of obligately anaerobic photoautotrophic bacteria. Most closely related to the distant Bacteroidetes, they are accordingly assigned their own phylum....	719-726
Bacteriochlorophyll g	Heliobacteria Heliobacteria The heliobacteria are phototrophic, that is to say, they convert light energy into chemical energy by photosynthesis; they use a PSI type reaction center. The primary pigment involved is bacteriochlorophyll g, which is unique to the group and has a unique absorption spectrum; this gives the...	670, 788

Bacteriochlorophylls a, b, and g are bacteriochlorins, with two reduced pyrrole rings (B and D), and bacteriochlorophylls c, d and e are chlorin

Chlorin

In organic chemistry, a chlorin is a large heterocyclic aromatic ring consisting, at the core, of three pyrroles and one pyrroline coupled through four methine linkages...

s, with one reduced

Redox

Redox reactions describe all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed....

 pyrrole

Pyrrole

Pyrrole is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, a five-membered ring with the formula C4H4NH. It is a colourless volatile liquid that darkens readily upon exposure to air. Substituted derivatives are also called pyrroles, e.g., N-methylpyrrole, C4H4NCH3...

ring (D).