In:
Science Advances, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Vol. 5, No. 8 ( 2019-08-02)
Abstract:
All known phototrophic metabolisms on Earth rely on one of three categories of energy-converting pigments: chlorophyll- a (rarely - d ), bacteriochlorophyll- a (rarely - b ), and retinal, which is the chromophore in rhodopsins. While the significance of chlorophylls in solar energy capture has been studied for decades, the contribution of retinal-based phototrophy to this process remains largely unexplored. We report the first vertical distributions of the three energy-converting pigments measured along a contrasting nutrient gradient through the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The highest rhodopsin concentrations were observed above the deep chlorophyll- a maxima, and their geographical distribution tended to be inversely related to that of chlorophyll- a . We further show that proton-pumping proteorhodopsins potentially absorb as much light energy as chlorophyll- a –based phototrophy and that this energy is sufficient to sustain bacterial basal metabolism. This suggests that proteorhodopsins are a major energy-transducing mechanism to harvest solar energy in the surface ocean.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2375-2548
DOI:
10.1126/sciadv.aaw8855
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publication Date:
2019
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2810933-8