Question

Think about the conditions (temperature, light, pressure, and organic and inorganic materials) that you may find in a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. What type of prokaryotes, in terms of their metabolic needs (autotrophs, phototrophs, chemotrophs, etc.), would you expect to find there?

Short answer

As there isno light in adeep-sea hydrothermal vent, the prokaryotes would bechemotrophs. Carbon dioxide would be the source of carbon in the ocean, thus, they would be autotrophs. As oceans are devoid of organic material, prokaryotes would possibly utilize the inorganic sources, thus, they would be chemolithotrophs. In the hydrothermal vent due to high temperatures, the prokaryotes would be thermophilic.

Step-by-step solution

Introduction

Thehot springs or the geysers, also known as the deep-sea hydrothermal vents are witnessed on the floor of the ocean, generated by the movement of the tectonic plates, which permits magma to elevate and cool giving rise to the new crust. This permits the seawater circulating the deep ocean toget heated up. Even the vents are superheated, huge numbers of microbes can be found in such environments.

Explanation

In the given case, there can be many assumptions made, that is, as the hydrothermal vents are found deep in the sea, no light is found there, and it can be assumed that the prokaryotes found there could be chemotrophs as they do not require light.

The prokaryotes could also beautotrophs as the source of carbon is carbon dioxide dissolved in water, and carbon dioxide is one of the essential requirements forautotrophs to prepare their food. Apart from this because of the absence of organic matter in the ocean, the prokaryotes would end up consuming inorganic sources, thus, they may bechemolithotrophs.

As the temperature in the vents isextremely high, this may indicate that the prokaryotes would be thermophilic, as thermophiles are the species that can withstand high temperatures.