Team uncovers new molecule with big implications

Almost 20 years ago, the University of Delaware's Tom Hanson started studying the bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum (Cba. tepidum), an organism that only lives in volcanic hot springs, to understand how it captures energy from light and chemicals to grow in that environment. Among the reasons to study the organism, Cba. tepidum is one of the microbes that re-oxidizes sulfide, a compound toxic to humans. Because of Cba. tepidum and its relatives, we can live near parts of the earth where sulfide is produced by other lifeforms, like the ocean.

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