Marine bacteria can create environmentally friendly energy sources

Bacteria in the world's oceans can effectively use solar energy to grow thanks to a pigment that absorbs special light.

This discovery was made by researchers at the University of Kalmar in Sweden in collaboration with researchers in Gothenburg, Sweden and Spain. This discovery was published in an article in the journal Nature.

Marine piracy (Photo: csc.noaa.gov)

It has long been thought that algae are the only organisms in the sea that can use light to grow, says Jarone Pinhassi, marine microbiologist at Kalmar University. These microalgae carry out the same process as green plants, this process is called photosynthesis with the help of chlorophyll.

In 2000 scientists in the US first found that many marine bacteria have a gene in their DNA that encodes a pigment that absorbs light, which is proteorhodopsin .

Proteorhodopsin involves a pigment in the retina that allows people to see colors. It is possible that this pigment allows bacteria to absorb sunlight to produce energy, but so far it seems impossible to confirm this hypothesis.

Last year researchers from Kalmar collected 20 marine bacteria from different ocean regions and mapped their genomes. Some of them have been shown to contain proteorhodopsin pigment. This makes it possible to conduct a series of experiments to show clearly that the growth of bacteria with this pigment is stimulated by light, because this pigment converts solar energy into energy to develope. In addition, scientists have found a new type of photosynthesis in bacteria that occurs at sea.

It is easier to understand the importance of knowing new mechanisms in marine bacteria as this will make the use of solar energy effective, if you think about the fact that a liter of seawater contains approximately one billion bacteria. The activity of these bacteria plays an important role in the carbon cycle, such as the amount of CO2 they generate, as well as how the solar energy on Earth is transformed through the nutrient cycle. .

'Bacteria on the water surface of the oceans in the world swim in a sea of ​​light'. Jarone Pinhassi said. 'And it's not surprising that evolution has made microbes able to use this abundant energy source. This protein can also play a role in the commercial and environmental outlook, for the development of artificial photosynthesis for environmentally friendly energy production. '

Ngoc Thanh