Definition of chemosynthesis in English:
chemosynthesis
noun ˌkiːmə(ʊ)ˈsɪnθɪsɪsˌkɛmə(ʊ)ˈsɪnθɪsɪs
mass nounBiology The synthesis of organic compounds by bacteria or other living organisms using energy derived from reactions involving inorganic chemicals, typically in the absence of sunlight.
Compare with photosynthesis
Example sentencesExamples
- These so-called chemoautotrophs use the stored energy of certain chemicals [usually sulfides such as hydrogen sulfide or iron sulfide (FeS 2)] to drive chemosynthesis.
- In the darkness at these depths, chemosynthesis takes the place of photosynthesis - the trapping of energy in sunlight by plants.
- Ahh, looks like I might have been thinking of chemosynthesis.
- It turned out that the hydrogen sulphide rising from the sea floor vents produced a process called chemosynthesis; the basis of the food chain.
- It turned out that at the base of the food chain were bacteria that nourished themselves through a process of chemosynthesis.
Derivatives
adjective
Biology Scientists have identified over 300 species of life, including fish, tubeworms, clams, and chemosynthetic bacteria living around these vents.
Example sentencesExamples
- Thus, the base of the deep-sea ecosystem's food chain may comprise both chemosynthetic and, probably in small proportion, photosynthetic bacteria.
- Seep communities are also based on microbial chemosynthetic primary production and share a few species and many genera with hydrothermal vent communities.
- It was only when the vent chemosynthetic ecosystems were discovered that the importance of hydrothermal vents was globally acknowledged.
- However, mussels from different sites sometimes responded differently to the same environment, suggesting stock-related effects also play a role in the spatial variation observed in the physiology of chemosynthetic fauna.