Cyanobacteria are a large group of prokaryotic organisms. Cyanobacteria are found in marine microbial mats that include many species of eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms that can participate in mutualistic symbiotic relationships. One recently discovered species of cyanobacteria, UCYN-A, lacks the genes that encode ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCo), components of photosystem II, and the Krebs cycle. UCYN-A contains genes enabling nitrogen fixation, which allows the enzymatic conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to biologically available nitrogen compounds such as nitrate. Within the microbial community, there is relatively little available nitrogen. The majority of organisms in the microbial mat cannot fix nitrogen.
(a) Identify the metabolic process whereby UCYN-A is most likely to produce ATP.
(b) In low-nitrogen conditions, UCYN-A participates in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with others in the microbial mat. Predict the most likely type of symbiotic relationship between UCYN-A organism and the other organisms in the microbial mat if nitrogen becomes readily available from another source. Provide reasoning to support your prediction.

A) The process whereby UCYN-A is most likely to produce ATP is Glycolysis. As it lacks the gene that encodes RUBISCO, compounds of photosynthesis II and the Krebs cycle, it can't produce ATP.

B) if nitrogen becomes readily available from another source the UCYN-A will be in a parasitic relationship with other organisms deriving food from them as it cant perform photosynthesis to produce its own food.

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Martebi Martebi · Answer 2 · 2021-11-25T15:34:54+01:00

The metabolic process whereby UCYN-A is most likely to produce ATP is called Metabolic streamlining.

In Metabolic streamlining, there is an open-ocean nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium. UCYN-A is known to lacks a number of major metabolic pathways such as the tricarboxylic acid cycle, but it holds a good amount of electron transport capacity to produce energy and limiting the power from light.

To Predict the most likely type of symbiotic relationship between UCYN-A and the other organisms in the microbial mat if nitrogen becomes readily available from another source, UCYN-A have to be be in a parasitic relationship with another species and can only get food from them, This is because the species will not be able to perform the process of photosynthesis in order to produce its own food.

The availability of nitrogen from another source will make the UCYN-A to be in a parasitic relationship with other organisms thereby getting its food from them as it will not be able to perform photosynthesis to produce its own food.

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