A new environmentally friendly energy source may be found in the world’s oceans. Marine bacteria DNA contains ‘proteorhodopsin’, a light capturing pigment which is similar to the pigment in the human retina which enables us to see colors.
Science Daily says researchers have found it would be possible for marine bacteria to capture solar light to generate energy with this pigment. Studies were done by the University of Kalmar in Sweden, in collaboration with researchers in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Spain.
“Bacteria in the surface water of the world’s oceans swim in a sea of light,” says Jarone Pinhassi. “And it is shouldn’t be too surprising that evolution has favored microorganisms that can use this rich source of energy. This type of protein may also play a role in commercial and environmental perspectives, for the development of artificial photosynthesis for the environmentally friendly production of energy.”
Twenty different marine bacteria from various ocean sites were studied, and many proved to contain proteorhodopsin. The method could very well be used efficiently, considering approximately a billion bacteria can be found in one bucket of seawater.
“It was long thought that algae were the only organisms in the seas that could use sunlight to grow,” says Jarone Pinhassi, a researcher in Marine Microbiology at Kalmar University College. These microscopic algae carry out the same process as green plants on land, namely, photosynthesis with the help of chlorophyll.”
This study was published in the journal ‘Nature’.