Abstract
To determine the distribution patterns of pigmented bacteria of the Bacilaceae family in different physiographic zones and ecological niches, we recovered 787 isolates from 185 environmental samples (including the areas with radiation pollution). Among the strains obtained, 149 pigmented representatives were detected, which synthesized intracellular and extracellular pigments of yellow, red, pink, and dark colors. In compliance with physiological, biochemical, and chemotaxonomic features, the isolates were identified as 7 species of the Bacilaceae family. We demonstrated that the ability to synthesize pigments significantly depended on the culture medium composition. According to the color of the colonies, the absorption spectra of pigment extracts, their physicochemical properties, and the implementation of several qualitative tests, the pigmented isolates were divided into ten groups. The relative number of pigmented strains in the physiographic zone was consistent with the total level of solar radiation for the year. Most pigmented members of the Bacillaceae family were recovered from deserts and semi-deserts, and fewest of them originated from mixed forests. We show that among the studied ecological niches, pigmented strains were most often isolated from the phyllosphere and aquatic environment and least often from soils. However, the isolates from soils and aquatic environments exhibited a greater diversity of pigmentation, and a lesser variety of colored strains was obtained from the phyllosphere and the gastrointestinal tract of animals. We established that the quantitative and qualitative composition of pigmented isolates from the areas with radiation contamination differed significantly from those coming from the natural radiation background.