Nitrogen inputs in the ancient ocean – underappreciated bacteria step into the spotlight

It was long assumed that cyanobacteria were mainly responsible for fixing nitrogen on early Earth, thus making nitrogen available to the biosphere. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, now show that purple sulfur bacteria could have contributed substantially to nitrogen fixation under the conditions prevailing in the Proterozoic ocean.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft