Chemosynthesis - wikipedia Chemosynthesis This article is about biological consumption of energy from inorganic compounds. For chemical synthesis in molecular nanotechnology, see Chemosynthesis ( nanotechnology ). Venenivibrio stagnispumantis gains energy by oxidizing hydrogen gas. In biochemistry, chemosynthesis is the biological conversion of one or more carbon - containing molecules ( usually carbon dioxide or methane ) and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic compounds ( e.g., hydrogen gas, hydrogen sulfide ) or methane as a source of energy, rather than sunlight, as in photosynthesis. Chemoautotrophs, organisms that obtain carbon through chemosynthesis, are phylogenetically diverse, but also groups that include conspicuous or biogeochemically - important taxa include the sulfur - oxidizing gamma and epsilon proteobacteria, the Aquificae, the methanogenic archaea and the neutrophilic iron - oxidizing bacteria. Many microorganisms in dark regions of the oceans use chemosynthesis to produce biomass from single carbon molecules. Two categories can be distinguished. In the rare sites at which hydrogen molecules ( H ) are available, the energy available from the reaction between CO and H ( leading to production of methane, CH ) can be large enough to drive the production of biomass. Alternatively, in most oceanic environments, energy for chemosynthesis derives from reactions in which substances such as hydrogen sulfide or ammonia are oxidized. This may occur with or without the presence of oxygen. Many chemosynthetic microorganisms are consumed by other organisms in the ocean, and symbiotic associations between chemosynthesizers and respiring heterotrophs are quite common. Large populations of animals can be supported by chemosynthetic secondary production at hydrothermal vents, methane clathrates, cold seeps, whale falls, and isolated cave water. It has been hypothesized that chemosynthesis may support life below the surface of Mars, Jupiter 's moon Europa, and other planets. Chemosynthesis may have also been the first type of metabolism that evolved on Earth, leading the way for cellular respiration and photosynthesis to develop later. Contents 1 Hydrogen sulfide chemosynthesis process 2 Discovery 2.1 Hydrothermal vents 2.2 Oceanic crust 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Hydrogen sulfide chemosynthesis process Giant tube worms use bacteria in their trophosome to fix carbon dioxide ( using hydrogen sulfide as an energy source ) and produce sugars and amino acids. Some reactions produce sulfur : hydrogen sulfide chemosynthesis : 12H S + 6C O → C H O ( = carbohydrate ) + 6H O + 12S Instead of releasing oxygen gas while fixing carbon dioxide as in photosynthesis, hydrogen sulfide chemosynthesis produces solid globules of sulfur in the process. In bacteria capable of chemoautotrophy ( a form a chemosynthesis ), such as purple sulfur bacteria, yellow globules of sulfur are present and visible in the cytoplasm. Discovery Giant tube worms ( Riftia pachyptila ) have an organ containing chemosynthetic bacteria instead of a gut. In 1890, Sergei Nikolaevich Vinogradskii ( or Winogradsky ) proposed a novel type of life process called `` anorgoxydant ''. His discovery suggested that some microbes could live solely on inorganic matter and emerged during his physiological research in the 1880s in Strassburg and Zurich on sulfur, iron, and nitrogen bacteria. In 1897, Wilhelm Pfeffer coined the term `` chemosynthesis '' for the energy production by oxidation of inorganic substances, in association with autotrophic carbon dioxide assimilation - what would be named today as chemolithoautotrophy. Later, the term would be expanded to include also chemoorganoautotrophs, which are organisms that use organic energy substrates in order to assimilate carbon dioxide. Thus, chemosynthesis can be seen as a synonym of chemoautotrophy. The term `` chemotrophy '', less restrictive, would be introduced in the 1940s by André Lwoff for the production of energy by the oxidation of electron donors, organic or not, associated with auto - or heterotrophy. Hydrothermal vents The suggestion of Vinogradskii was confirmed nearly 90 years later, when hydrothermal ocean vents were predicted to exist in the 1970s. The hot springs and strange creatures were discovered by Alvin, the world 's first deep - sea submersible, in 1977 at the Galapagos Rift. At about the same time, Harvard graduate student Colleen Cavanaugh proposed chemosynthetic bacteria that oxidize sulfides or elemental sulfur as a mechanism by which tube worms could survive near hydrothermal vents. Cavanaugh later managed to confirm that this was indeed the method by which the worms could thrive, and is generally credited with the discovery of chemosynthesis. A 2004 television series hosted by Bill Nye named chemosynthesis as one of the 100 greatest scientific discoveries of all time. Oceanic crust In 2013, researchers reported their discovery of bacteria living in the rock of the oceanic crust below the thick layers of sediment, and apart from the hydrothermal vents that form along the edges of the tectonic plates. Preliminary findings are that these bacteria subsist on the hydrogen produced by chemical reduction of olivine by seawater circulating in the small veins that permeate the basalt that comprises oceanic crust. The bacteria synthesize methane by combining hydrogen and carbon dioxide. See also Primary nutritional groups Autotroph Heterotroph Photosynthesis Movile Cave References Jump up ^ Julian Chela - Flores ( 2000 ) : `` Terrestrial microbes as candidates for survival on Mars and Europa '', in : Seckbach, Joseph ( ed. ) Journey to Diverse Microbial Worlds : Adaptation to Exotic Environments, Springer, pp. 387 -- 398. ISBN 0 - 7923 - 6020 - 6 Jump up ^ Biotechnology for Environmental Management and Resource Recovery. Springer. 2013. p. 179. ISBN 9788132208761. Jump up ^ Campbell N.A. e.a. ( 2008 ) Biology 8. ed. Pearson International Edition, San Francisco. ISBN 978 - 0 - 321 - 53616 - 7 Jump up ^ The purple phototrophic bacteria. Hunter, C. Neil, 1954 -. Dordrecht : Springer. 2009. ISBN 9781402088148. OCLC 304494953. Jump up ^ Kellerman, M.Y., G. Wegener, M. Elvert, M.Y. Yoshinaga, Y-S. Lin, T. Holler, X.P. Millar, K. Knittel, and K-U. Hinrichs ( 2012 ). Autotrophy as a predominant mode of carbon fixation in anaerobic methane - oxidizing microbial communities. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109 ( 47 ) : 19321 - 19326 Jump up ^ Kelly, D.P., & Wood, A.P. ( 2006 ). The chemolithotrophic prokaryotes. In : The prokaryotes ( pp. 441 - 456 ). Springer New York, ( 1 ). Jump up ^ Schlegel, H.G. ( 1975 ). Mechanisms of chemo - autotrophy. In : Marine ecology, Vol. 2, Part I ( O. Kinne, ed. ), pp. 9 - 60, ( 2 ). Jump up ^ Cavenaugh, Colleen M., et al, `` Prokaryotic Cells in the Hydrothermal Vent Tube Worms Rifttia Jones : Possible Chemoautotrophic Symbionts, '' Science, Vol 213, Issue 4505, 17 July 1981, pp. 340 - 342. Jump up ^ `` 100 Greatest Discoveries ( 2004 - 2005 ) '' IMDb. Jump up ^ `` Greatest Discoveries. '' Archived March 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Science. Watch the `` Greatest Discoveries in Evolution '' online. Jump up ^ `` Life deep within oceanic crust sustained by energy from interior of Earth '', ScienceDaily, retrieved March 16, 2013. External links Chemosynthetic Communities in the Gulf of Mexico Metabolism, catabolism, anabolism General Metabolic pathway Metabolic network Primary nutritional groups Energy metabolism Aerobic respiration Glycolysis → Pyruvate decarboxylation → Citric acid cycle → Oxidative phosphorylation ( electron transport chain + ATP synthase ) Anaerobic respiration Electron acceptors are other than oxygen Fermentation Glycolysis → Substrate - level phosphorylation ABE Ethanol Lactic acid Specific paths Protein metabolism Protein synthesis Catabolism Carbohydrate metabolism ( carbohydrate catabolism and anabolism ) Human Glycolysis ⇄ Gluconeogenesis Glycogenolysis ⇄ Glycogenesis Pentose phosphate pathway Fructolysis Galactolysis Glycosylation N - linked O - linked Nonhuman Photosynthesis Anoxygenic photosynthesis Chemosynthesis Carbon fixation Xylose metabolism Radiotrophism Lipid metabolism ( lipolysis, lipogenesis ) Fatty acid metabolism Fatty acid degradation ( Beta oxidation ) Fatty acid synthesis Other Steroid metabolism Sphingolipid metabolism Eicosanoid metabolism Ketosis Reverse cholesterol transport Amino acid Amino acid synthesis Urea cycle Nucleotide metabolism Purine metabolism Nucleotide salvage Pyrimidine metabolism Other Metal metabolism Iron metabolism Ethanol metabolism Ecology : Modelling ecosystems : Trophic components General Abiotic component Abiotic stress Behaviour Biogeochemical cycle Biomass Biotic component Biotic stress Carrying capacity Competition Ecosystem Ecosystem ecology Ecosystem model Keystone species List of feeding behaviours Metabolic theory of ecology Productivity Resource Producers Autotrophs Chemosynthesis Chemotrophs Foundation species Mixotrophs Myco - heterotrophy Mycotroph Organotrophs Photoheterotrophs Photosynthesis Photosynthetic efficiency Phototrophs Primary nutritional groups Primary production Consumers Apex predator Bacterivore Carnivores Chemoorganotroph Foraging Generalist and specialist species Intraguild predation Herbivores Heterotroph Heterotrophic nutrition Insectivore Mesopredators Mesopredator release hypothesis Omnivores Optimal foraging theory Planktivore Predation Prey switching Decomposers Chemoorganoheterotrophy Decomposition Detritivores Detritus Microorganisms Archaea Bacteriophage Environmental microbiology Lithoautotroph Lithotrophy Microbial cooperation Microbial ecology Microbial food web Microbial intelligence Microbial loop Microbial mat Microbial metabolism Phage ecology Food webs Biomagnification Ecological efficiency Ecological pyramid Energy flow Food chain Trophic level Example webs Cold seeps Hydrothermal vents Intertidal Kelp forests Lakes North Pacific Subtropical Gyre Rivers San Francisco Estuary Soil Tide pool Processes Ascendency Bioaccumulation Cascade effect Climax community Competitive exclusion principle Consumer - resource systems Copiotrophs Dominance Ecological network Ecological succession Energy quality Energy Systems Language f - ratio Feed conversion ratio Feeding frenzy Mesotrophic soil Nutrient cycle Oligotroph Paradox of the plankton Trophic cascade Trophic mutualism Trophic state index Defense, counter Animal coloration Antipredator adaptations Camouflage Deimatic behaviour Herbivore adaptations to plant defense Mimicry Plant defense against herbivory Predator avoidance in schooling fish Ecology : Modelling ecosystems : Other components Population ecology Abundance Allee effect Depensation Ecological yield Effective population size Intraspecific competition Logistic function Malthusian growth model Maximum sustainable yield Overpopulation in wild animals Overexploitation Population cycle Population dynamics Population modeling Population size Predator -- prey ( Lotka -- Volterra ) equations Recruitment Resilience Small population size Stability Species Biodiversity Density - dependent inhibition Ecological effects of biodiversity Ecological extinction Endemic species Flagship species Gradient analysis Indicator species Introduced species Invasive species Latitudinal gradients in species diversity Minimum viable population Neutral theory Occupancy -- abundance relationship Population viability analysis Priority effect Rapoport 's rule Relative abundance distribution Relative species abundance Species diversity Species homogeneity Species richness Species distribution Species - area curve Umbrella species Species interaction Antibiosis Biological interaction Commensalism Community ecology Ecological facilitation Interspecific competition Mutualism Parasitism Storage effect Symbiosis Spatial ecology Biogeography Cross-boundary subsidy Ecocline Ecotone Ecotype Disturbance Edge effects Foster 's rule Habitat fragmentation Ideal free distribution Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis Island biogeography Landscape ecology Landscape epidemiology Landscape limnology Metapopulation Patch dynamics r / K selection theory Resource selection function Source -- sink dynamics Niche Ecological niche Ecological trap Ecosystem engineer Environmental niche modelling Guild Habitat Marine habitats Limiting similarity Niche apportionment models Niche construction Niche differentiation Other networks Assembly rules Bateman 's principle Bioluminescence Ecological collapse Ecological debt Ecological deficit Ecological energetics Ecological indicator Ecological threshold Ecosystem diversity Emergence Extinction debt Kleiber 's law Liebig 's law of the minimum Marginal value theorem Thorson 's rule Xerosere Other Allometry Alternative stable state Balance of nature Biological data visualization Ecocline Ecological economics Ecological footprint Ecological forecasting Ecological humanities Ecological stoichiometry Ecopath Ecosystem based fisheries Endolith Evolutionary ecology Functional ecology Industrial ecology Macroecology Microecosystem Natural environment Regime shift Systems ecology Urban ecology Theoretical ecology List of ecology topics Metabolism portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chemosynthesis&oldid=851301638 '' Categories : Biological processes Metabolism Environmental microbiology Ecosystems Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Български Català Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano ქართული Қазақша Kreyòl ayisyen Кыргызча Latviešu Magyar Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska தமிழ் Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 29 more Edit links This page was last edited on 21 July 2018, at 10 : 57 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what form of energy is used for chemosynthesis
Answer: the oxidation of inorganic compounds (e.g., hydrogen gas, hydrogen sulfide) or methane