SOLAR MICROBE

Pure research -- nobody knows where it will lead.

Microbe converts light to energy
Randolph E. Schmid, July 26, 2007 (AP via Yahoo News)

WHO
David M. Ward, professor of microbial studies, Montana State University; Don Bryant, professor of biotechnology, Penn State University;

Candidatus Chloracidobacterium thermophilum

WHAT
Candidatus Chloracidobacterium thermophilum (Cab. Thermophilum) photosynthetically processes light into energy, a capacity of plants only recently discovered in simple bacterial organisms.

WHEN
- Reported July 27.
- The heat-loving bacteria in Yellowstone’s ponds have been studied for 40-50 years.

WHERE
- Found in pond scum on hot springs (Mushroom Spring, Octopus Spring and Green Finger Pool in the Lower Geyser Basin) at Yellowstone National Park. Thermus aquaticus was previously found in the same hot springs. That microbe has become crucial in genetic testing and research.
- Published in the journal Science.

The Lower Geyser Basin is #9 (click to enlarge)

WHY
- Cab. Thermophilum is completely different than other bacteria and blue-green algae growing on the surface of the yellow, orange, red, brown and green mats in the hot springs. The temp is 122 to 151 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cab. Thermophilum has chlorosomes (light-harvesting antennae) with 250,000 chlorophylls each, in 2 types. It is the first aerobic microbe known to make chlorosomes.
- Based on genetic sequences, Cab. Thermophilum’s closest relatives are around Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone and hot springs in Tibet and Thailand.
Research funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

QUOTES
- Ward: "This thing was just bizarre…a new kind of photosynthesis. It uses the same kind of machinery, but has the parts in a different arrangement…We're running out of fossil fuel, so the more efficiently we can harvest light energy the better…"
- Bryant: "Finding a previously unknown, chlorophyll-producing microbe is the discovery of a lifetime…I wouldn't have been as excited if I had reached into that mat and pulled out a gold nugget the size of my fist!"