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- Title
Hydrothermal vents and the origin of life.
- Authors
Martin, William; Baross, John; Kelley, Deborah; Russell, Michael J.
- Abstract
Submarine hydrothermal vents are geochemically reactive habitats that harbour rich microbial communities. There are striking parallels between the chemistry of the H2–CO2 redox couple that is present in hydrothermal systems and the core energy metabolic reactions of some modern prokaryotic autotrophs. The biochemistry of these autotrophs might, in turn, harbour clues about the kinds of reactions that initiated the chemistry of life. Hydrothermal vents thus unite microbiology and geology to breathe new life into research into one of biology's most important questions — what is the origin of life?
- Subjects
HYDROTHERMAL vents; GEOCHEMICAL modeling; AUTOTROPHIC bacteria; BIOCHEMISTRY; MICROBIOLOGY
- Publication
Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2008, Vol 6, Issue 11, p805
- ISSN
1740-1526
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/nrmicro1991