Study: Underwater Bacteria Use Antennas to Harvest Solar Energy
The researchers examined the protein rhodopsin, often known as visual purple, in a recent study that was published in the journal Nature.
Rhodopsin absorbs light energy for bacteria and converts it into chemical energy that the cell needs to survive and function.
In contrast to the complex photosynthesis systems, which involve multiple proteins, here it is a single protein that performs the work, the researchers noted.
Some rhodopsin proteins also have an "antenna," which is made of special carotenoid molecules and serves as an energy amplifier that increases the amount of energy available to the cell by tens of percent.
The antennas pick up the violet-blue light, which some rhodopsins cannot utilize, and transfer the energy to the rhodopsin molecule, the researchers noted.
Around a third of the rhodopsin proteins in sea, ocean, and freshwater microbes contain "antennas," according to the study.
These antennas may have a substantial effect on microbes in the world's lakes, seas, and oceans, and on the entirety of life throughout the food chain, the researchers concluded.
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