Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: TH
Context: A study published in the journal Nature reveals the oldest evidence of photosynthetic structures found in a collection of 1.75-billion-year-old microfossils known as Navifusa majensis.
- The microstructures identified as thylakoids, membrane-bound structures inside chloroplasts, provide direct evidence for oxygenic photosynthesis.
- This process, unique to cyanobacteria and related organelles in eukaryotes, involves converting water and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen with sunlight.
The discovery suggests that photosynthesis may have evolved before 1.75 billion years ago, shedding light on the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis, a process that played a crucial role in the Great Oxidation Event around 2.4 billion years ago.
