tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341686541622227200.post1599426392189419384..comments2024-02-08T12:10:38.282+00:00Comments on Life of a Lab Rat: Chameleon plants!Lab Rathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07962574174521597312noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341686541622227200.post-39603764144120417722010-02-18T19:37:48.853+00:002010-02-18T19:37:48.853+00:00My guess is that the bacteria would have started o...My guess is that the bacteria would have started off with one light-capturing pigment. A gene copying event would then lead to two copies, one of which would specialise to a different wavelength, allowing the cell to choose between them.<br /><br />Either that or the pigment evolved to fit two different wavelengths in different bacteria, and then just got passed between them, until they all had both. There are quite a lot of different wavelength capturing pigments out there by the time you include all the ones in plants and odd algae.<br /><br />(this is all speculation by the way, unfortunately I don't have the time to dig into it at the moment, but I will ask my lecturer when I next see him!)Lab Rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07962574174521597312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341686541622227200.post-20170440006825180762010-02-18T19:07:29.801+00:002010-02-18T19:07:29.801+00:00I'd think that the pigments themselves would b...I'd think that the pigments themselves would be more efficient, but then you've got to have two lots of mechanisms to produce them. So they make bespoke pigments rather than taking a generic one off the shelf.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341686541622227200.post-38217557562189996712010-02-18T07:55:25.727+00:002010-02-18T07:55:25.727+00:00Thanks for the comment! I get the feeling that pig...Thanks for the comment! I get the feeling that pigments are better at absorbing light energy when they do it over a narrower range (although I'd have to check with a physicist). And seeing as bacteria *have* different pigments with different wavelength abilities, this is quite an efficient way of using them.<br /><br />(in some marine bacteria this is also hooked up to the gas vesicle system, so that as the bacteria float up towards the surface of the sea they can start preparing for the change in light)Lab Rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07962574174521597312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341686541622227200.post-32821482654007160112010-02-17T20:02:18.768+00:002010-02-17T20:02:18.768+00:00Bacteria really do some clever stuff.
I wonder if ...Bacteria really do some clever stuff.<br />I wonder if this is more efficient than having a single pigment which absorbs more wavelengths? It seems like it ought to be.SimonGnoreply@blogger.com