Isolated chlorosomes of several species of filamentous anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (FAPB) and green sulfur bacteria (GSB) were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) to characterize their topography and biometry. Chlorosomes of Chloroflexus aurantiacus, Chloronema sp., and Chlorobium (Chl.) tepidum exhibited a smooth surface, whereas those of Chl. phaeobacteroides and Chl. vibrioforme showed a rough one. The potential artifactual nature of the two types of surfaces, which may have arisen because of sample manipulation or AFM processing, was ruled out when AFM images and transmission electron micrographs were compared. The difference in surface texture might be associated with the specific lipid and polypeptide composition of the chlorosomal envelope. The study of three-dimensional AFM images also provides information about the size and shape of individual chlorosomes. Chlorosomal volumes ranged from ca. 35 000 nm(3) to 247 000 nm(3) for Chl. vibrioforme and Chl. phaeobacteroides, respectively. The mean height was about 25 nm for all the species studied, except Chl. vibrioforme, which showed a height of only 14 nm, suggesting that GSB have 1-2 layers of bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) rods and GFB have approximately 4. Moreover, the average number of BChl molecules per chlorosome was estimated according to models of BChl rod organisation. These calculations yielded upper limits ranging from 34 000 BChl molecules in Chl. vibrioforme to 240 000 in Chl. phaeobacteroides, values that greatly surpass those conventionally accepted.