Beggiatoa is a genus of bacteria in the order Thiotrichales. They are named after the Italian medic and botanist F.S. Beggiato. The organisms live in sulfur-rich environments. During his research in Anton de Bary’s laboratory of botany in 1887, Russian botanist Sergei Winogradsky found that Beggiatoa oxidized hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as an energy ...