Natures wonders: microorganisms produce elemental carbon (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, November 14, 2021, 14:54 (892 days ago) @ David Turell

Limited to a few types of methanogens and anaerobic methanotrophs:

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/934753

"New research at Virginia Tech, the University of Bremen, and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology has revealed that two kinds of microorganisms - methanogens and anaerobic methanotrophs – are able to produce a form of elemental carbon known as amorphous carbon.

***

“'We never thought that amorphous carbon could be produced by living organisms because of the normally extreme chemical reactions that are needed to form it,” said Robert White, an emeritus professor of biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “This is the first report of amorphous carbon being produced by any organism on Earth, and we are very interested in the possible implications it may have for the carbon cycle.”

***

"Amorphous carbon is a form of elemental carbon that lacks the hard, crystalline structure of graphite or diamond. The substance is usually formed under extreme temperatures and pressures, or during the burning of organic matter.

***

"The microorganisms thrive in areas with high amounts of decayed organic matter and low-oxygen, such as wetlands, landfills, and cow stomachs. As these microorganisms eat the breakdown products of organic matter, they produce methane.

"The methane produced by these methanogens accounts for 90 percent of biologically produced methane, with 31 percent of this coming from cows alone.

***

"In other experiments with anaerobic methanotrophs, researchers found even more black material. Anaerobic methanotrophs are microorganisms that also thrive in the low-oxygen areas, but instead prefer the ocean floor. As they consume the methane that is seeping from the ocean floor, they convert it into carbon dioxide."

Comment: The metabolic mechanisms in these organisms is not yet known, but this is an important bit of new information about Earth's carbon cycle, further showing how all processes on Earth are intertwined.