Chemosynthesis
Life-sustaining process that converts inorganic compounds into organic matter.
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Chemosynthesis is a biological process where organisms produce energy by oxidizing inorganic substances, distinct from photosynthesis.[1]
Quick Facts
- Field
- Biochemistry, Microbiology
- Known for
- Biological conversion of carbon molecules into organic matter using inorganic energy sources
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Wilhelm Pfeffer coined the term "chemosynthesis" in 1897 for energy production through oxidation of inorganic substances linked to autotrophic carbon dioxide assimilation.[1] The term "chemotrophy" was introduced in the 1940s by André Lwoff for energy production from oxidizing electron donors, whether organic or not.[2] Sergei Winogradsky, during his 1880s research in Strasbourg and Zürich on sulfur, iron, and nitrogen bacteria, introduced in 1890 a new life process he termed "anorgoxydant," suggesting some microbes could survive solely on inorganic matter.[3] The discovery of hydrothermal ocean vents in the 1970s, nearly 90 years after Winogradsky's proposal, provided confirmation of his idea.[4]
In 1977, the deep-sea submersible Alvin discovered hot springs and unusual organisms at the Galapagos Rift.[4] Colleen Cavanaugh, then a graduate student, suggested around the same time that tube worms near hydrothermal vents could survive through chemosynthetic bacteria that oxidize sulfides or elemental sulfur.[4] Cavanaugh subsequently verified this survival method and is widely recognized as the discoverer of chemosynthesis.[4]
What the research sources say
The ScienceDaily account reports that in 2013 researchers discovered bacteria living in oceanic crust rock below sediment layers, apart from hydrothermal vents.[5][6] These bacteria subsist on hydrogen produced by chemical reduction of olivine by seawater circulating in basalt veins.[6] Dr. Lever stated that this spatially vast ecosystem is largely supported by chemosynthesis.[5] Carbon isotope analysis provided clear evidence that organic material in the rock was formed within the oceanic crust, not from dead plankton.[5]
The ScienceDaily account notes that life based on chemosynthesis may be found on other planets where the chemical environment permits.[5]
References
- Wikipedia, "Chemosynthesis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kellerman, "Autotrophy as a predominant mode of carbon fixation in anaerobic methane-oxidizing microbial communities", Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2012, p. 19321–19326 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Chemosynthesis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kelly, "The Prokaryotes", Springer, 2006, p. 441–456; Schlegel, "Marine Ecology", 1975, p. 9–60 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Chemosynthesis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Paraska, "Chemosynthesis: a history of innovation", Infusion & Chemotherapy, 2022-07-24, p. 50–56 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Chemosynthesis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cavenaugh, "Prokaryotic Cells in the Hydrothermal Vent Tube Worms Riftia Jones: Possible Chemoautotrophic Symbionts", Science, 1981, p. 340–342 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Life deep within oceanic crust sustained by energy from interior of Earth", ScienceDaily, 14 March 2013. facts only, no text reused. sciencedaily.com
- Wikipedia, "Chemosynthesis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Life deep within oceanic crust sustained by energy from interior of Earth", ScienceDaily, 14 March 2013 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Chemosynthesis (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Chemosynthesis (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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