Stanford Researchers Say Cyanobacteria’s Unusual Enzymes May Boost Carbon Storage
Stanford researchers have found a group of cyanobacteria with two forms of the enzyme RuBisCo, which could be advantageous for life in low-oxygen ocean waters. If the enzyme combo proves to be a benefit, it may have applications in agriculture. “This is one of those great examples of science where you go out looking for one thing, but you end up finding something else that’s even better,” said Anne Dekas, an assistant professor of Earth system science at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and senior author of the Nov. 25 study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Billions of years ago, long before plants arrived on the scene, cyanobacteria invented oxygenic photosynthesis. In the process of producing food from carbon dioxide and sunlight, the widespread microbes released oxygen into the air, making our planet’s atmosphere hospitable to the array of life on Earth today. “Cyanobacteria are arguably the most important life form on Earth,” said Dekas. “They oxygenated the atmosphere of Earth and created a biological revolution.”