
Simple Bacteria Offer Clues to the Origins of Photosynthesis - rbanffy
https://www.quantamagazine.org/simple-bacteria-offer-clues-to-the-origins-of-photosynthesis-20171017/
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wombatmobile
Fascinating. Thanks for posting, rbanffy.

I am not an evolutionary biologist, or an organic chemist, or even someone who
studied chemistry beyond high school. I just have some exposure to hardware
circuit design, including microprocessor internals, through my vocation as a
software engineer, and an interest in science, including evolutionary biology.

For dilettantes like me, this visualisation that shows the electron transfer
processes along Photosystem II and Photosystem I, helps contextualise your
discussion.

Photosystem 2 and Photosystem 1 by CNUBiochemistry
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hUxKPSNTl0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hUxKPSNTl0)

Just seeing the two systems in series is exciting! It might not have been, as
recently as last week, but then I stumbled across this backgrounder from Lynn
Margulis which has changed my view of evolution more than I could ever have
imagined possible.

Discover Interview: Lynn Margulis [https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-
sciences/discover-inter...](https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-
sciences/discover-interview-lynn-margulis-says-shes-not-controversial-shes-
right)

Thanks again, rbanffy. The work you highlighted has my complete attention.

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Ericson2314
Reminds me of when I first saw
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_superfamily#/media/Fil...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_superfamily#/media/File:Structural_homology_of_the_PA_clan.png)
in
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_superfamily](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_superfamily).

It felt like the biological equivalent of seeing the cosmic background
radiation for the first time.

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hammock
Related , scientists think that plants got photosynthesis by subsuming these
bacteria into their cells in a symbiotic relationship - similar to how animal
cells got mitochondria inside them.

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imvetri
For visual learners - there is no educative image in the page.

