There’s no wonder why science teaches us that sunlight is crucial for all living beings on our planet. It harnesses a plant’s ability to create oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. Every cell from our bodies needs oxygen. Considering that on most other planets out there, there’s no sign of such complex processes that lead to getting oxygen in our bodies, we all might try to be a little thankful for what nature gives us every single day.
According to ScienceAlert.com, scientists found a mysterious species of bacteria that possesses an unusual way to photosynthesize. The Gobi Desert from China and Mongolia is where the peculiar bacteria was found.
Gemmatimonas phototrophica is under the spotlight
Horizontal gene-transfer skills from proteobacterium, meaning a different bacteria phylum, were ‘stolen’ by the odd bacteria to use.
Michal Koblizek, who works at the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, declared:
The architecture of the complex is very elegant. A real masterpiece of nature,
It has not only good structural stability, but also great light-harvesting efficiency.
The complex of molecules possesses an inner ring that captures sunlight and an outer ring that’s of a new type.
Pu Qian, a biologist from the University of Sheffield, stated:
This structural and functional study has exciting implications because it shows that G. phototrophica has independently evolved its own compact, robust, and highly effective architecture for harvesting and trapping solar energy.
Apart from the study, we know very well that photosynthesis takes place in the cells of plants – in chloroplasts, to be more precise. Chloroplasts use chlorophyll to absorb the light energy that’s needed. That’s pretty much how photosynthesis happens, to summarize it in a more detailed way.
The new study was published in Science Advances.
