ArticlePhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2008
The evolution of photosynthesis...again?
Article in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Ascent of Miniproteins.Biochemistry · 2026Review
- The Role of Meteorite Impacts in the Origin of Life.Astrobiology · 2020Article
- The Cosmic Zoo: The (Near) Inevitability of the Evolution of Complex, Macroscopic Life.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2016Article
- Surface biosignatures of exo-earths: remote detection of extraterrestrial life.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2015Article
- Photosynthesis in hydrogen-dominated atmospheres.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2014Article
- Spaces of the possible: universal Darwinism and the wall between technological and biological innovation.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2014Review
- Habitable worlds with no signs of life.Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences · 2014Article
- The recurrent assembly of C4 photosynthesis, an evolutionary tale.Photosynthesis research · 2013Review
- Insight from the draft genome of Dietzia cinnamea P4 reveals mechanisms of survival in complex tropical soil habitats and biotechnology potential.Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2012Article
- Earth science: Life battered but unbowed.Nature · 2009Article
- Photosynthetic and atmospheric evolution. Introduction.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2008Article
- Evolutionary ecology during the rise of dioxygen in the Earth's atmosphere.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2008Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
'Replaying the tape' is an intriguing 'would it happen again?' exercise. With respect to broad evolutionary innovations, such as photosynthesis, the answers are central to our search for life elsewhere. Photosynthesis permits a large planetary biomass on Earth. Specifically, oxygenic photosynthesis has allowed an oxygenated atmosphere and the evolution of large metabolically demanding creatures, including ourselves. There are at least six prerequisites for the evolution of biological carbon fixation: a carbon-based life form; the presence of inorganic carbon; the availability of reductants; the presence of light; a light-harvesting mechanism to convert the light energy into chemical energy; and carboxylating enzymes. All were present on the early Earth. To provide the evolutionary pressure, organic carbon must be a scarce resource in contrast to inorganic carbon. The probability of evolving a carboxylase is approached by creating an inventory of carbon-fixation enzymes and comparing them, leading to the conclusion that carbon fixation in general is basic to life and has arisen multiple times. Certainly, the evolutionary pressure to evolve new pathways for carbon fixation would have been present early in evolution. From knowledge about planetary systems and extraterrestrial chemistry, if organic carbon-based life occurs elsewhere, photosynthesis -- although perhaps not oxygenic photosynthesis -- would also have evolved.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.