Bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen learned a billion years earlier than previously thought




The ancients surveyed by geologists from the north-west of Australia i>

The team of geologists, including representatives of various countries and scientific organizations, смогла find in the most ancient terrestrial rocks possible traces of ancient bacteria bound nitrogen. According to Roger Buick, one of the representatives of the team of scientists, researchers were able to get a clear evidence that life on earth and in the early days of feeling very well. It is now believed that life on Earth started to develop when the bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen learned, translating it into compounds that are available for other living organisms. As a result of these new microorganisms and continued to evolve, becoming the ancestors of the current diversity of animal and plant species (зародилась life even earlier, 3, 5-3, 8 billion years ago ).

Previously it was thought that bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen taught only 2 billion years ago. If the assumptions geologists are correct, then life is well felt even 3, 2 billion years ago, and no nitrogen starvation was not - nitrogen in bound form was good enough to be used by other microorganisms and their communities.

Proof of this can serve as rocks formed at a specified time in the regions of what is now the Australia and South Africa. The formation of these rocks occurred under water in the Earth's atmosphere has no oxygen, and rocks were formed themselves away from the centers of volcanic activity. Accordingly, the formation of the rocks occurred in calm conditions, and now scientists can easily explore ancient geological "Chronicle". The authors studied 52 samples of rocks between the ages of 2, 75 to 3, 2 billion years ago, collected in South Africa and in the north-west Australia.

The study and analysis of the data shows that the ratio of atoms of different isotopes of nitrogen in these ancient rocks is approximately the same as in much younger rocks, which were formed in the conditions of active nitrogen-fixing bacteria binding activity. All this suggests that the 3, 2 billion years ago, bacteria could already fix nitrogen. In this regard, for atmospheric nitrogen bacteria had to use very complex biochemical processes that surprising, as was previously thought that these processes have been developed living beings in a billion years later.

According to the results of another analysis, the ancient bacteria used molybdenum for nitrogen fixation (so come and modern bacteria). But while the composition of the water of the seas and oceans is very different from the present, and molybdenum in water almost was not. But he was in the rocks, and scientists believe that the ancient bacteria lived on land, in water close to areas that are washed ancient ocean. Perhaps the most ancient life existed in the form of mucus on the wet stones.

While the discovery of scientists and its meaning is still debated, but one thing is clear - the origin of life on Earth could not quite place the scenario that uses modern science. Some bricks in the foundation of science will probably have to be replaced. But only if the theory of team of geologists, the authors of the above discoveries will be fair.

Source: geektimes.ru/post/246212/

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