Sorry to use the list, but other people may be interested as well. I don't
seem to have Beth's address here, so I thought I'd just hang my dirty laundry
out for you all to see.
Beth, here's an interesting note on oxygen carriers... loads of web sites.
Quote: Recently a bacterium, Shewanella putrefaciens, has been found that uses
manganese rather than oxygen as an electron acceptor; that is, it is "a
manganese breather".
G'day,
> Beth, here's an interesting note on oxygen carriers... loads of web
In addition to at least 9 other electron acceptors including iron, solid metal
oxides and soluble electron acceptors such as nitrate. The reason it does this
is that's it lives in anaerobic environments (i.e. little if any oxygen). The
approach is too inefficient to really compete with aerobes ("oxygen
breathers") in what we would consider standard conditions. From what I know
I'd say its probably also a fairly toxic approach for anything but simple
(usually single celled) organisms (though I didn't take much physiology at uni
so I may have missed something).
On the other hand if you wanted to use it to justify/inspire weird alien
physiology, why the hell not I say?!;)
Have fun