MCB3023 Carbon Fixation

What is carbon fixation?

• Converting atmospheric carbon into organic compounds

• The purification of carbon into its most stable crystalline structure

• Addition of halogens to hydrocarbons

• The uptake of carbon into the ocean

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What is climate change?

• Fast warming of the Earth due to human involvement

• Cold locations becoming temperate and hot locations becoming frigid

• The natural fluctuations of temperatures through Earth's history

• The shift from natural forests to urban cities

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Multiple correct: What are three obstacles of using microbes to fight climate change?

• Microbial pathways are highly complex

• Scientists can manipulate, but not modify the pathways

• Carbon fixation requires a lot of energy

• Microbes do not want to fight climate change

• Scientists can modify, but not manipulate the pathways

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Multiple correct: What are ways that scientists are using microbes to fight climate change?

• Turning heterotrophs into autotrophs

• Manipulating enzymes and transcription factors involved in carbon fixation

• Increasing the amount of light harvested by microbes

• Giving microbes rousing speeches to encourage them to uptake more carbon

• Increasing the average number of leaves on a plant to increase photosynthesis

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Which of these is NOT an effect of climate change?

• Rise of sea levels

• Increased temperature

• Increased prevalence of diseases such as malaria

• Faster photosynthesis by plants due to increased CO2 in the atmosphere

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Which is NOT an obstacle for carbon fixation research?

• One small change can lead to unexpected consequences

• Scientists cannot change pathways that are already in place

• The energy requirement of fixing one molecule of carbon dioxide

• It takes too long to see if introduced pathways in heterotrophs can be passed on

True or False: Scientists have introduced photosynthetic pathways into E. coli with relative success.

• True

• False

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How do we negate the effect of methanogens on global warming?

• Increase CO2 fixation from photosynthetic microbes

• Restrict the activity of methanogens by limiting nutrients

• Stimulate alternative metabolic pathways in methanogens

• All of the above

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Why do greenhouse gasses absorb light?

• Their dipole moment vibrates at a specific frequency that absorbs IR radiation

• Their electrons absorb light easily

• Their vibrations bounce light off of them and back to Earth

• They can stick together and form a layer that traps heat like a blanket

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What is your favorite microbe and do they fix carbon?

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