what are chemoautotrophs?
Answer Wiki. Chemoautotrophs are bacteria that extract energy from the environment through chemical reactions, typically oxidation of sulfur or transition metal compounds. They can be further subdivided into chemoautotrophs, bugs that are able to fix carbon, and chemoheterotrophs that must ingest reduced carbon compounds. Chemoautotrophs are not monophyletic, being found in both the Proteobacteria group of the domain Bacteria, and more widely in the domain Archaea.