what is mass-based and volume-based energy storage capacity of ATP and typical carbohydrates? Is it possible for an autotroph to be evolved/found that convert sunlight into energy of ATP, store ATP and use ATP without intermediate conversion and metabolism of carbohydrate, which could help simplify metabolic machinery, especially in a phosphorus-rich environment? what is chemical stress on cellular machinery at elevated levels of ATP under this hypothetical circumstance?
I do not know of any auxotrophs that do this from sunlight, but there are some bacteria that gain their energy by oxidizing metal, and some store nodules of metal oxide or metal sulfide. I read an article about Fe3O4 nanoparticles as energy storage and their use in lithium ion batteries, but I don't remember the authors or have the reference for it. (I think it was in RSC Advances, but I could not swear to that...) So the biological basis for storing energy in non-carbohydrate form exists. It could be inserted into an auxotroph, but I don't know of any cases where nature has already done that for us.
You can review this article
http://www.fao.org/3/Y5022E/y5022e04.htm
Sumit Bhowmick
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Chemistry
- Biochemistry