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http://hdl.handle.net/10553/57278
Title: | Microbial rhodopsins are major contributors to the solar energy captured in the sea | Authors: | Gómez-Consarnau, Laura Raven, John A. Levine, Naomi M. Cutter, Lynda S. Wang, Deli Seegers, Brian Arístegui, Javier Fuhrman, Jed A. Gasol, Josep M. Sañudo-Wilhelmy, Sergio A. |
UNESCO Clasification: | 251001 Oceanografía biológica | Keywords: | Aerobic Anoxygenic Phototrophs Proteorhodopsin Bacteria Light Growth, et al |
Issue Date: | 2019 | Journal: | Science advances | 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. | URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/10553/57278 | ISSN: | 2375-2548 | DOI: | 10.1126/sciadv.aaw8855 | Source: | Science advances [ISSN 2375-2548], v. 5, p. eaaw8855 |
Appears in Collections: | Artículos |
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