Question

Chemoautotrophs growing in the ocean will sometimes have all the enzymes needed for glycolysis even though they will never encounter an external glucose. Why?

Answer 1

Chemotrophs are organisms that obtain energy by the oxidation of electron donors in their environments. These molecules can be organic or inorganic. The chemotroph designation is in contrast to phototrophs, which use solar energy. Chemotrophs can be either autotrophic or heterotrophic..Glycolysis is a series of reactions that extract energy from glucose by splitting it into two three-carbon molecules called pyruvates. Glycolysis is an ancient metabolic pathway, meaning that it evolved long ago, and it is found in the great majority of organisms alive today..

Chemotrophs are organisms that obtain energy by the oxidation of electron donors in their environment. Chemoautotrophs use inorganic energy sources to synthesize organic compounds from carbon dioxide.Chemoautotrophs are able to synthesize their own organic molecules from the fixation of carbon dioxide. These organisms are able to produce their own source of food, or energy. The energy required for this process comes from the oxidation of inorganic molecules such as iron, sulfur or magnesium. Chemoautotrophs are able to thrive in very harsh environments, such as deep sea vents, due to their lack of dependence on outside sources of carbon other than carbon dioxide. Chemoautotrophs include nitrogen fixing bacteria located in the soil, iron oxidizing bacteria located in the lava beds, and sulfur oxidizing bacteria located in deep sea thermal vents.