Chemoautotrophic Microbes

Twenty-six hundred meters below our world of light, through the murky depths, resides a world completely alien to our own. It was not until 1977, when the first manned submarine was able to enter such depths and explore this oasis of life that resides around the earth 's nourishing thermal vents. Here, a vast community of organisms thrive under very harsh circumstances, and most importantly, in the absence of life-giving light. How is this possible? Chemoautotrophic microbes.

Chemoautotrophic bacteria are the primary producers on the ocean floor, where light cannot reach. Unlike most organisms, these bacteria do not need carbohydrates, vitamins, protein, and sugar to create energy, and ultimately to survive. Instead, these bacteria utilize
Early earth was exposed to a multitude of asteroid impacts, and the lack of a stable environment made earth opposed to life. The early oceans were shallow ad rocky, with near boiling temperatures. Due to the similarities of early earth, and the current habitat of the chemoautotrophs, a new theory was instilled. The discovery of chemosynthesis in bacteria gives new insight into how life may have been formed on earth. The theory currently accepted and taught is that photosynthesizers came first, and were followed by heterotrophs. This theory, however, was formulated before the discovery of Chemosynthetic microbes. This new synthesis process has questioned this theory, with solid arguments. Information that supports the theory that chemoautotrophs were the first forms of life on earth reflects that the elements and resources on early earth are much like those currently used for chemosynthesis in the ocean. Another argument favors that chemosynthesis bacteria would have a "head start" on life, because these microbes could assemble its genetic makeup in sheltered areas, and avoid the destructive radiation given off by the sun when there was no atmosphere. (SciAmerican 81) It would seem unnecessary for life to create chemosynthesis, if photosynthesis was available for the first signs of life to use. However, a major flaw in this new theory of chemosynthesis life coming first, is that chemosynthesis involves the oxidation of simple compounds in order to create energy. This means that there had to be an adequate source of oxygen on earth before chemosynthetic autotrophs could survive. The process of oxidation also questions the true independent nature of chemoautotrophs, because it depends on oxygen from other photosynthetic life in order to maintain its existence. (Garden 129) Not even chemosynthetic bacteria can survive without the symbiosis from photoautotrophs, and