Jun 20, 2018 12:00:00

Bacteria that may serve as a source of oxygen for human migration to Mars are discovered

When a person wants to move to Mars, the first thing he needs is said to be oxygen to breathe. A research team led by Elmers Klaus, an emeritus professor at the Australian National University, has discovered bacteria that can produce oxygen by photosynthesis even in sunshine conditions that are unsuitable for plant growth.

Photochemistry beyond the red limit in chlorophyll f–containing photosystems | Science

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6394/1210

Weird low-light bacteria could potentially thrive on Mars | Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/06/18/weird-low-light-bacteria-could-potentially-thrive-on-mars.html

Breathing on Mars could now be possible, thanks to this bacteria | World Economic Forum
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/want-to-breathe-on-mars-a-sea-dwelling-bacteria-could-make-that-possible/

Bacteria discovered by the research team are a type of cyanobacteria (cyanobacteria) that can produce oxygen by photosynthesis. This cyanobacteria has the characteristic of being able to produce oxygen even in an environment that is unsuitable for plant growth due to the short daylight hours. In fact, the research team confirmed that cyanobacteria are breeding even at the bottom of the trench, which is barely exposed to light.

Chlorophyll , a photosynthetic pigment, is required for actual photosynthesis, and ordinary plants use chlorophyll a to convert visible light into energy. However, research has shown that cyanobacteria can convert energy using a special photosynthetic pigment, chlorophyll f, even when exposed to invisible far-infrared or near-infrared light.

'This study redefines the minimum energy required for photosynthesis,' said Jennifer Morton of the Australian National University. 'The ability to do this means that some species are photosynthesizing under rocks. That's it. '

'It's a theoretical story, but if you bring a creature like cyanobacteria to Mars, humans can breathe on Mars,' Klaus said, prefaced that it might sound like a science fiction story. We believe it is possible to create the air we need, 'he said, explaining that these organisms could be of great help given future migration to Mars.