RE: To Beth Fulton: Breathing magnanese

G'day,

> Beth, here's an interesting note on oxygen carriers... loads of web
> sites. 
> 
> Quote:
> Recently a bacterium, Shewanella putrefaciens, has been found 
> that uses manganese rather than oxygen as an electron acceptor; that 
> is, it is "a manganese breather".

In addition to at least 9 other electron acceptors including iron, solid
metal oxides and soluble electron acceptors such as nitrate. The reason
it
does this is that's it lives in anaerobic environments (i.e. little if
any
oxygen). The approach is too inefficient to really compete with aerobes
("oxygen breathers") in what we would consider standard conditions. From
what I know I'd say its probably also a fairly toxic approach for
anything
but simple (usually single celled) organisms (though I didn't take much
physiology at uni so I may have missed something). 

On the other hand if you wanted to use it to justify/inspire weird alien
physiology, why the hell not I say?! ;)

Have fun