Algae leak billions of carbon tons feeding ocean microbes
Dao O, Barrett J, Burlacot A, Peltier G, Li-Beisson Y
Climate Adaptation
The algae blooming in ponds and coastal waters near you aren't just soaking up carbon dioxide, they're leaking a byproduct that feeds entire underwater food webs, the same basic process that makes your garden plants sometimes waste energy on hot, bright days.
All plants that photosynthesize, from your tomato plants to ocean algae, sometimes accidentally grab oxygen instead of carbon dioxide, creating a toxic byproduct they have to clean up. Scientists used to think water-dwelling plants and algae had mostly engineered around this problem, but it turns out they still leak huge amounts of a carbon-rich waste product called glycolate into the water. That leaked carbon, nearly a billion tons of it every year, becomes food for ocean bacteria and plays a real role in how the planet's carbon cycle works.
Key Findings
Aquatic phototrophs, which fix over half of global carbon, retain a basal photorespiratory flux even when CO2-concentrating mechanisms are active, contrary to earlier assumptions that it was negligible.
Glycolate excretion from photorespiration approaches one gigaton of carbon annually, directly fueling heterotrophic microbial turnover in aquatic ecosystems.
Photorespiratory pathways show striking lineage-specific diversity and subcellular organization across aquatic groups, reflecting their varied endosymbiotic evolutionary histories, and the process acts as a dynamic redox-stabilizing 'safety valve' rather than simple detoxification.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Algae and other aquatic plants leak nearly a billion tons of carbon a year into the ocean through a wasteful side-reaction of photosynthesis, and that leaked carbon feeds ocean bacteria and shapes global carbon cycling.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
The mosaic of aquatic photorespiration: evolution, diversity, and global biogeochemical impacts.
Aquatic phototrophs contribute over half of global carbon fixation, yet their photorespiratory metabolism remains a critical, underexplored component of the Earth's carbon cycle. First reported by ...
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