I suppose the Sun's spectral characteristics might have changed a bit since chlorophyll evolved - though I wouldn't think *that* much. However, I agree with Brent - I would think that any plant that evolved the ability to absorb green light (not to mention infra red and all the other EM radiation knocking around) would have a distinct advantage over the current lot, and like Ice 9 the situation is surely unstable against something wandering into that part of the genetic landscape. But having no knowledge of biochemistry and suchlike I have no idea how likely that is.
On 18 June 2014 19:31, Russell Standish <[email protected]> wrote: > On Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 10:27:48PM -0700, meekerdb wrote: > > > > What is baffling to me is that photosynthesis in algae relies on > > absorption in the red and blue part of the spectrum, but reflects > > the big green part in between?? Why didn't it evolve another > > pigment to capture that in order to live in low light conditions? > > > > The idea I've heard is that the original photosynthesiser absorbed the > green portion of the spectrum, and then the current photosynthesiser > came along later, and made use of the remaining bits of the spectrum > (red+blue), and ultimately outcompeted the earlier photosynthesis > system. > > I gather the earlier photosynthetic system might still be around - the > so-called purple bacteria, which use a different photosynthesis process > producing sulfur, not oxygen. > > This also explain why the atmosphere was not oxygenated until ca 2Gya. > > But it does illustrate the way evolution can get stuck in a local > optima. And also further evidence that any purported Creator must be > completely incompetent. > > Cheers > > -- > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prof Russell Standish Phone 0425 253119 (mobile) > Principal, High Performance Coders > Visiting Professor of Mathematics [email protected] > University of New South Wales http://www.hpcoders.com.au > > Latest project: The Amoeba's Secret > (http://www.hpcoders.com.au/AmoebasSecret.html) > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Everything List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
