Lithoautotroph - Wikipedia

A lithoautotroph is a microbe which derives energy from reduced compounds of mineral origin. They may also be referred to as chemolithoautotrophs, a type of lithotrophs, reflecting their autotrophic metabolic pathways. Lithoautotrophs are exclusively microbes; macrofauna do not possess the capability to utilize mineral sources of energy. For lithoautotrophic bacteria, only inorganic molecules can be used as energy sources. Most lithoautotrophs belong to the domain Bacteria. The term "Lithotroph" is created from the terms 'lithos' (rock) and 'troph' (consumer); literally, it may be read "eaters of rock." Many lithoautotrophs are extremophiles, but this is not universally so.

Lithoautotrophs are extremely specific in using their energy source. Thus, despite the diversity in using inorganic molecules in order to obtain energy that lithoautotrophs exhibit as a group, one particular lithoautotroph would use only one type of inorganic molecules to get its energy.

Geological processes

Lithoautotrophs participate in many geological processes, such as the weathering of parent material (bedrock) to form soil, as well as biogeochemical cycling of sulfur, potassium, and other elements. They may be present in the deep terrestrial subsurface (they have been found well over 3 km below the surface of the planet), in soils, and in endolith communities. As they are responsible for the liberation of many crucial nutrients, and participate in the formation of soil, lithoautotrophs play a crucial role in the maintenance of life on Earth.

Acid mine drainage

Lithoautotrophic microbial consortia are responsible for the phenomenon known as acid mine drainage, whereby energy-rich pyrite present in mine tailing heaps and in exposed rock faces is metabolized to form sulfites, which form potentially corrosive sulfuric acid when dissolved in water and exposed to aerial oxygen. Acid mine drainage drastically alters the acidity and chemistry of groundwater and streams, and may endanger plant and animal populations. Activity similar to acid mine drainage, but on a much lower scale, is also found in natural conditions such as the rocky beds of glaciers, in soil and talus, and in the deep subsurface.

References

Ramos JL. (May 2003). "Lessons from the genome of a lithoautotroph: making biomass from almost nothing". J Bacteriol. 185 (9): 2690–1. doi:10.1128/JB.185.9.2690-2691.2003. PMC 154387. PMID 12700247.

Extremophiles

Types

Notable
extremophiles

Bacteria	Chloroflexus aurantiacus Deinococcus radiodurans Deinococcota Snottite Thermus aquaticus Thermus thermophilus Spirochaeta americana GFAJ-1
Archaea	Pyrococcus furiosus Strain 121 Pyrolobus fumarii Thermococcus gammatolerans
Eukaryota	Cyanidioschyzon merolae Galdieria sulphuraria Paralvinella sulfincola Halicephalobus mephisto Pompeii worm

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General	Abiotic component Abiotic stress Behaviour Biogeochemical cycle Biomass Biotic component Biotic stress Carrying capacity Competition Ecosystem Ecosystem ecology Ecosystem model Green world hypothesis Keystone species List of feeding behaviours Metabolic theory of ecology Productivity Resource Restoration
Producers	Autotrophs Chemosynthesis Chemotrophs Foundation species Kinetotrophs Mixotrophs Myco-heterotrophy Mycotroph Organotrophs Photoheterotrophs Photosynthesis Photosynthetic efficiency Phototrophs Primary nutritional groups Primary production
Consumers	Apex predator Bacterivore Carnivores Chemoorganotroph Foraging Generalist and specialist species Intraguild predation Herbivores Heterotroph Heterotrophic nutrition Insectivore Mesopredators Mesopredator release hypothesis Omnivores Optimal foraging theory Planktivore Predation Prey switching
Decomposers	Chemoorganoheterotrophy Decomposition Detritivores Detritus
Microorganisms	Archaea Bacteriophage Lithoautotroph Lithotrophy Marine Microbial cooperation Microbial ecology Microbial food web Microbial intelligence Microbial loop Microbial mat Microbial metabolism Phage ecology
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Defense, counter	Animal coloration Anti-predator adaptations Camouflage Deimatic behaviour Herbivore adaptations to plant defense Mimicry Plant defense against herbivory Predator avoidance in schooling fish

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Population ecology	Abundance Allee effect Consumer-resource model Depensation Ecological yield Effective population size Intraspecific competition Logistic function Malthusian growth model Maximum sustainable yield Overpopulation Overexploitation Population cycle Population dynamics Population modeling Population size Predator–prey (Lotka–Volterra) equations Recruitment Small population size Stability Resilience Resistance Random generalized Lotka–Volterra model
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Species interaction	Antibiosis Biological interaction Commensalism Community ecology Ecological facilitation Interspecific competition Mutualism Parasitism Storage effect Symbiosis
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Niche	Ecological niche Ecological trap Ecosystem engineer Environmental niche modelling Guild Habitat marine habitats Limiting similarity Niche apportionment models Niche construction Niche differentiation Ontogenetic niche shift
Other networks	Assembly rules Bateman's principle Bioluminescence Ecological collapse Ecological debt Ecological deficit Ecological energetics Ecological indicator Ecological threshold Ecosystem diversity Emergence Extinction debt Kleiber's law Liebig's law of the minimum Marginal value theorem Thorson's rule Xerosere
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