A single-celled marine microbe capable of photosynthesis and hunting and eating prey may be a secret weapon in the battle against climate change.
A single-celled marine microbe capable of photosynthesis and hunting and eating prey may be a secret weapon in the battle against climate change.
Scientists at UTS have discovered a new species that has the potential to sequester carbon naturally, even as oceans warm and become more acidic.
The microbe, abundant around the world, photosynthesises and releases a carbon-rich exopolymer that attracts and immobilises other microbes. It then eats some of the entrapped prey before abandoning its exopolymer “mucosphere”. Having trapped other microbes, the exopolymer is made heavier and sinks, forming part of the ocean’s natural biological carbon pump.
Marine biologist Dr Michaela Larsson led the research, published in the journal Nature Communications, and says the study is the first to demonstrate this behaviour.
Read more at University of Technology Sydney
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