BACTERIA at deep-sea volcanic vents can use the obscure element tellurium to respire, instead of oxygen. This allows them to thrive in the oxygen-free conditions of the vents.
Tellurium, a relatively rare semiconducting element, was not previously thought to have any biological function. But Julius Csotonyi of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, and his colleagues have isolated bacteria that use tellurate ions to mop up the electrons produced in respiration, the role usually adopted by oxygen.
The bacteria live on tubeworms and other animals at vents in the north-eastern Pacific, the researchers reported to a vent biology conference…
