|
Deep in the ocean, a clam that acts like a plant
February 21, 2007How does life survive in the black depths of the ocean? At the surface, sunlight allows green plants to "fix" carbon from the air to build their bodies. Around hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean live communities of giant clams with no gut and no functional digestive system, depending on symbiotic bacteria to use energy locked up in hydrogen sulfide to replace sunlight. Now, the genome of this symbiont has been completely sequenced and published in Science.
"The difference here is that while plants get their energy and carbon via photosynthesis by chloroplast symbionts, this clam gets its energy via chemosynthesis," said Jonathan Eisen, a professor at the UC Davis Genome Center and an author on the paper.
The actual work of photosynthesis in green plants is done by chloroplasts, descended from primitive single-celled organisms that were incorporated into other cells billions of years ago.
"The energy from hydrogen sulfide is used to drive carbon fixation in much the same way that chloroplasts carry out carbon fixation," Eisen said. The symbiotic bacteria also fix nitrogen and produce amino acids, vitamins and other nutrients required by the clam.
Studies of the deep sea have implications for studying the origins of life, Eisen said. Life on Earth may have got its start with microbes living on such chemical reactions, before the evolution of photosynthesis.
"And they're just plain interesting," Eisen added.
If you were thinking that giant clams sound tasty, think again. The hydrogen sulfide gives them a strong smell of rotting eggs.
The senior author on the paper is Colleen Cavanaugh at Harvard University, and the first author is a graduate student in her lab, Irene Newton. The other authors include researchers at Harvard, the Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, Calif., and the Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville, Md.
University of California, Davis
"The energy from hydrogen sulfide is used to drive carbon fixation in much the same way that chloroplasts carry out carbon fixation," Eisen said. The symbiotic bacteria also fix nitrogen and produce amino acids, vitamins and other nutrients required by the clam.
Studies of the deep sea have implications for studying the origins of life, Eisen said. Life on Earth may have got its start with microbes living on such chemical reactions, before the evolution of photosynthesis.
"And they're just plain interesting," Eisen added.
If you were thinking that giant clams sound tasty, think again. The hydrogen sulfide gives them a strong smell of rotting eggs.
The senior author on the paper is Colleen Cavanaugh at Harvard University, and the first author is a graduate student in her lab, Irene Newton. The other authors include researchers at Harvard, the Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, Calif., and the Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville, Md.
University of California, Davis
Photosynthesis News and Current Photosynthesis Events RSSDrought tolerance in potatoes
Climate change is expected to exacerbate drought events throughout the world, resulting in large-scale ecosystem alteration and failure of drought-sensitive crops.
SEX4, starch and phosphorylation
Energy from the sun and carbon dioxide fuel photosynthesis in plants and algae, making life on earth possible. Carbon that is fixed by plants is converted to starch and sucrose, which are utilized by plants for energy and to build biomass.
Feeding and fueling the future: the bioenergy potential of reviving abandoned agricultural land
Across the globe, hundreds of millions of acres of once-productive agricultural land lie abandoned, according to a new report from researchers at Stanford University and the Carnegie Institution for Science. If this land was used to grow crops for conversion into biofuel, it could help ease the energy crunch without worsening the world food shortage or contributing to global warming.
Moores UCSD Cancer Center study links vitamin D, type 1 diabetes
Sun exposure and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children, according to new findings by researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine.
What makes life go at the tropics?
What causes tropical life to thrive: temperature, or sunlight? The answer is not necessarily "both." According to a study published online this week in PNAS Early Edition, the explosion of species at the tropics has much more to do with warmth than with light.
UCSD researchers show link between vitamin D status, breast cancer
Using newly available data on worldwide cancer incidence, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine have shown a clear association between deficiency in exposure to sunlight, specifically ultraviolet B (UVB), and breast cancer.
U of Minnesota researcher discovers the starting point of sun-induced skin cancer
According to a new study from the University of Minnesota, the earliest event in the development of sun-induced skin cancer may have been identified.
Berkeley Researchers Identify Photosynthetic Dimmer Switch
In a study of the molecular mechanisms by which plants protect themselves from oxidation damage should they absorb too much sunlight during photosynthesis, a team of researchers has discovered a molecular "dimmer switch" that helps control the flow of solar energy moving through the system of light harvesting proteins.
ESA contributes to ocean carbon cycle research
The Earth's oceans play a vital role in the carbon cycle, making it imperative that we understand marine biological activity enough to predict how our planet will react to the extra 25 000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide humans are pumping into the atmosphere annually.
On the Energy Trail: Berkeley Researchers Find New Details Following the Path of Solar Energy During Photosynthesis
Imagine a technology that would not only provide a green and renewable source of electrical energy, but could also help scrub the atmosphere of excessive carbon dioxide resulting from the burning of fossil fuels.
More Photosynthesis News Articles
 | Aquatic Photosynthesis: Second Edition by Paul G. Falkowski, John A. Raven |
 | Artificial Photosynthesis: From Basic Biology to Industrial Application |
 | Molecular Mechanisms of Photosynthesis by Robert E Blankenship |
| The Magic School Bus Gets Planted: A Book About Photosynthesis by Lenore Notkin | |
 | Photosynthesis (Science Concepts, Second Series) by Alvin Silverstein, Virginia B. Silverstein, Laura Silverstein Nunn |
 | Photosynthesis: Changing Sunlight Into Food (Nature's Changes) by Bobbie Kalman |
 | Photosynthesis by Dr David Lawlor |
 | Herbal Products: Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology (Forensic Science and Medicine) |
 | The Science of Flavonoids |
 | Carbon-Oxygen and Nitrogen Cycles: Respiration, Photosynthesis & Decomposition (Earth's Processes) by Rebecca Harman |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |