Publication Date:
2022-05-25
Description:
Thioploca constitutes a great portion of the benthic biomass off the Chile-Peru coast. This organism is eaten by the higher organisms and constitutes a major input of organic carbon in the food chain in this region. Thioploca has been an enigma ever since its discovery in 1907 and the prefix "thio" in the genus name has led investigators to believe that hydrogen sulfide is the energy source necessary to synthesize Thioploca biomass. The results of this investigation indicate that methane is the energy and carbon source for the organism. The organism does not use radioactive labeled acetate, glucose, mixture of amino acids, thymine or bicarbonate as demontrated by autoradiography. Since the energy and carbon source is methane, it indicates that Thioploca is a methylotroph. Methane in this area is generated by microbial activity in reduced sediments and from seepage from coal seams that run under the seafloor. Methane, through Thioploca, represents a major new mechanism, other than photosynthesis, to add cellular carbon to the ecosystem oft the Chile-Peru area. Because methane is the energy and carbon source, Thioploca's taxonomic position as weil as its evolutionary position should be re-assessed.
Type:
Article
,
NonPeerReviewed
Format:
text
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