You are studying an environment rich in sulfur. You add hydrogen to it and notic

Question

You are studying an environment rich in sulfur. You add hydrogen to it and notice that it decreases in concentration rapidly. Carbon dioxide levels also steadily decline, while methane and H2S levels increase. You look at a sample under the microscope and notice many microorganisms swimming around. 1. Based on these data, how might these microorganisms be acquiring enough energy to make ATP (there is more than one possible energy-yielding reaction). Your answer should include the oxidation/reduction reactions as well as an estimate of the change in free energy (delta G) for each reaction in standard conditions. 2. Which reaction would yield the most biomass? How did you come to that conclusion? 3. For the reaction in 2, use the reduction potential of the electron donor to provide a hypothesis about which molecules are likely to be in the electron transport chain. 4. Carbon dioxide has two possible roles in the metabolism of these microorganisms. What are they, and list one enzyme you might look for in DNA sequence data to test for one or more of these metabolic uses of CO2.

Explanation / Answer

The organisms present are chemosynthetic bacteria thriving on energy produced by oxidation of H2S. Examples of such bacteria are green and purple sulfer bacteria. following reactions take place Co2 + 2H2S + light and chlorophyll = (CH2o)n + H2o + 2S

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