TED2018
Penny Chisholm: The tiny creature that secretly powers the planet
Filmed:
Readability: 4.3
1,463,084 views
Oceanographer Penny Chisholm introduces us to an amazing little being: Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthetic species on the planet. A marine microbe that has existed for millions of years, Prochlorococcus wasn't discovered until the mid-1980s -- but its ancient genetic code may hold clues to how we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Penny Chisholm - Microbial oceanographer, author
Penny Chisholm studies an extremely tiny microorganism that plays an enormous role in ocean ecosystems. Discovered only three decades ago, it has defined her career and inspired her to think differently about life on Earth. Full bio
Penny Chisholm studies an extremely tiny microorganism that plays an enormous role in ocean ecosystems. Discovered only three decades ago, it has defined her career and inspired her to think differently about life on Earth. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I'd like to introduce you
to a tiny microorganism
to a tiny microorganism
0
760
2840
00:16
that you've probably never heard of:
1
4880
1736
00:18
its name is Prochlorococcus,
2
6640
1976
00:20
and it's really an amazing little being.
3
8640
2200
00:23
For one thing, its ancestors
4
11680
2896
00:26
changed the earth in ways
that made it possible for us to evolve,
that made it possible for us to evolve,
5
14600
3816
00:30
and hidden in its genetic code
6
18440
2056
00:32
is a blueprint
7
20520
1776
00:34
that may inspire ways to reduce
our dependency on fossil fuel.
our dependency on fossil fuel.
8
22320
5280
00:40
But the most amazing thing
9
28480
1856
00:42
is that there are
three billion billion billion
three billion billion billion
10
30360
2616
00:45
of these tiny cells on the planet,
11
33000
1816
00:46
and we didn't know they existed
until 35 years ago.
until 35 years ago.
12
34840
3320
00:51
So to tell you their story,
13
39280
1456
00:52
I need to first take you way back,
14
40760
2240
00:55
four billion years ago, when the earth
might have looked something like this.
might have looked something like this.
15
43800
3620
01:00
There was no life on the planet,
16
48480
1856
01:02
there was no oxygen in the atmosphere.
17
50360
2280
01:05
So what happened to change that planet
into the one we enjoy today,
into the one we enjoy today,
18
53320
5656
01:11
teeming with life,
19
59000
1816
01:12
teeming with plants and animals?
20
60840
1640
01:15
Well, in a word, photosynthesis.
21
63480
2280
01:19
About two and a half billion years ago,
22
67080
2096
01:21
some of these ancient ancestors
of Prochlorococcus evolved
of Prochlorococcus evolved
23
69200
3936
01:25
so that they could use solar energy
24
73160
2336
01:27
and absorb it
25
75520
1296
01:28
and split water into its component parts
of oxygen and hydrogen.
of oxygen and hydrogen.
26
76840
5016
01:33
And they used the chemical energy produced
27
81880
2416
01:36
to draw CO2, carbon dioxide,
out of the atmosphere
out of the atmosphere
28
84320
3896
01:40
and use it to build sugars
and proteins and amino acids,
and proteins and amino acids,
29
88240
3816
01:44
all the things that life is made of.
30
92080
2400
01:47
And as they evolved and grew more and more
31
95560
3096
01:50
over millions and millions of years,
32
98680
2056
01:52
that oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere.
33
100760
3080
01:57
Until about 500 million years ago,
34
105480
2496
02:00
there was enough in the atmosphere
that larger organisms could evolve.
that larger organisms could evolve.
35
108000
3696
02:03
There was an explosion of life-forms,
36
111720
1936
02:05
and, ultimately, we appeared on the scene.
37
113680
2560
02:09
While that was going on,
38
117000
1320
02:11
some of those ancient
photosynthesizers died
photosynthesizers died
39
119440
3216
02:14
and were compressed and buried,
40
122680
1680
02:17
and became fossil fuel
41
125160
2096
02:19
with sunlight buried
in their carbon bonds.
in their carbon bonds.
42
127280
4136
02:23
They're basically buried sunlight
in the form of coal and oil.
in the form of coal and oil.
43
131440
4680
02:29
Today's photosynthesizers,
44
137080
1576
02:30
their engines are descended
from those ancient microbes,
from those ancient microbes,
45
138680
5656
02:36
and they feed basically
all of life on earth.
all of life on earth.
46
144360
3240
02:40
Your heart is beating
using the solar energy
using the solar energy
47
148440
3336
02:43
that some plant processed for you,
48
151800
2216
02:46
and the stuff your body is made out of
49
154040
2416
02:48
is made out of CO2
50
156480
1616
02:50
that some plant processed for you.
51
158120
2440
02:53
Basically, we're all made
out of sunlight and carbon dioxide.
out of sunlight and carbon dioxide.
52
161480
4280
02:58
Fundamentally, we're just hot air.
53
166640
2056
03:00
(Laughter)
54
168720
2320
03:04
So as terrestrial beings,
55
172560
1696
03:06
we're very familiar
with the plants on land:
with the plants on land:
56
174280
3056
03:09
the trees, the grasses,
the pastures, the crops.
the pastures, the crops.
57
177360
4616
03:14
But the oceans are filled
with billions of tons of animals.
with billions of tons of animals.
58
182000
3816
03:17
Do you ever wonder what's feeding them?
59
185840
2360
03:21
Well there's an invisible pasture
60
189400
2376
03:23
of microscopic photosynthesizers
called phytoplankton
called phytoplankton
61
191800
3776
03:27
that fill the upper
200 meters of the ocean,
200 meters of the ocean,
62
195600
2640
03:32
and they feed the entire
open ocean ecosystem.
open ocean ecosystem.
63
200000
3416
03:35
Some of the animals
live among them and eat them,
live among them and eat them,
64
203440
2416
03:37
and others swim up
to feed on them at night,
to feed on them at night,
65
205880
2536
03:40
while others sit in the deep
and wait for them to die and settle down
and wait for them to die and settle down
66
208440
3976
03:44
and then they chow down on them.
67
212440
1524
03:47
So these tiny phytoplankton,
68
215320
3096
03:50
collectively, weigh less than
one percent of all the plants on land,
one percent of all the plants on land,
69
218440
4136
03:54
but annually they photosynthesize
as much as all of the plants on land,
as much as all of the plants on land,
70
222600
4296
03:58
including the Amazon rainforest
71
226920
2416
04:01
that we consider the lungs of the planet.
72
229360
2200
04:04
Every year, they fix
50 billion tons of carbon
50 billion tons of carbon
73
232280
3976
04:08
in the form of carbon dioxide
into their bodies
into their bodies
74
236280
3256
04:11
that feeds the ocean ecosystem.
75
239560
2680
04:15
How does this tiny amount of biomass
76
243120
2576
04:17
produce as much as all the plants on land?
77
245720
2056
04:19
Well, they don't have trunks and stems
78
247800
2536
04:22
and flowers and fruits
and all that to maintain.
and all that to maintain.
79
250360
2936
04:25
All they have to do is grow and divide
and grow and divide.
and grow and divide.
80
253320
2816
04:28
They're really lean
little photosynthesis machines.
little photosynthesis machines.
81
256160
3600
04:33
They really crank.
82
261519
1201
04:39
So there are thousands
of different species of phytoplankton,
of different species of phytoplankton,
83
267400
3896
04:43
come in all different shapes and sizes,
84
271320
2176
04:45
all roughly less than the width
of a human hair.
of a human hair.
85
273520
3256
04:48
Here, I'm showing you
some of the more beautiful ones,
some of the more beautiful ones,
86
276800
3576
04:52
the textbook versions.
87
280400
1480
04:54
I call them the charismatic
species of phytoplankton.
species of phytoplankton.
88
282640
3240
05:00
And here is Prochlorococcus.
89
288120
3000
05:04
I know,
90
292120
1536
05:05
it just looks like a bunch
of schmutz on a microscope slide.
of schmutz on a microscope slide.
91
293680
2936
05:08
(Laughter)
92
296640
1576
05:10
But they're in there,
93
298240
1816
05:12
and I'm going to reveal them
to you in a minute.
to you in a minute.
94
300080
2760
05:15
But first I want to tell you
how they were discovered.
how they were discovered.
95
303560
3560
05:20
About 38 years ago,
96
308080
2136
05:22
we were playing around with a technology
in my lab called flow cytometry
in my lab called flow cytometry
97
310240
4776
05:27
that was developed for biomedical research
for studying cells like cancer cells,
for studying cells like cancer cells,
98
315040
4480
05:33
but it turns out we were using it
for this off-label purpose
for this off-label purpose
99
321080
3296
05:36
which was to study phytoplankton,
and it was beautifully suited to do that.
and it was beautifully suited to do that.
100
324400
3960
05:41
And here's how it works:
101
329480
1776
05:43
so you inject a sample
in this tiny little capillary tube,
in this tiny little capillary tube,
102
331280
3240
05:47
and the cells go single file by a laser,
103
335840
3496
05:51
and as they do, they scatter light
according to their size
according to their size
104
339360
4056
05:55
and they emit light according
to whatever pigments they might have,
to whatever pigments they might have,
105
343440
3656
05:59
whether they're natural
or whether you stain them.
or whether you stain them.
106
347120
2616
06:01
And the chlorophyl of phytoplankton,
107
349760
2360
06:05
which is green,
108
353160
1336
06:06
emits red light
when you shine blue light on it.
when you shine blue light on it.
109
354520
3736
06:10
And so we used this instrument
for several years
for several years
110
358280
3216
06:13
to study our phytoplankton cultures,
111
361520
1816
06:15
species like those charismatic
ones that I showed you,
ones that I showed you,
112
363360
3616
06:19
just studying their basic cell biology.
113
367000
2200
06:22
But all that time, we thought,
well wouldn't it be really cool
well wouldn't it be really cool
114
370160
2936
06:25
if we could take an instrument
like this out on a ship
like this out on a ship
115
373120
2816
06:27
and just squirt seawater through it
116
375960
1696
06:29
and see what all those diversity
of phytoplankton would look like.
of phytoplankton would look like.
117
377680
4736
06:34
So I managed to get my hands
118
382440
2096
06:36
on what we call a big rig
in flow cytometry,
in flow cytometry,
119
384560
3216
06:39
a large, powerful laser
120
387800
2440
06:43
with a money-back guarantee
from the company
from the company
121
391240
2736
06:46
that if it didn't work on a ship,
they would take it back.
they would take it back.
122
394000
2936
06:48
And so a young scientist
that I was working with at the time,
that I was working with at the time,
123
396960
3016
06:52
Rob Olson, was able
to take this thing apart,
to take this thing apart,
124
400000
2576
06:54
put it on a ship, put it back together
and take it off to sea.
and take it off to sea.
125
402600
3856
06:58
And it worked like a charm.
126
406480
1336
06:59
We didn't think it would,
because we thought the ship's vibrations
because we thought the ship's vibrations
127
407840
3136
07:03
would get in the way
of the focusing of the laser,
of the focusing of the laser,
128
411000
2376
07:05
but it really worked like a charm.
129
413400
1656
07:07
And so we mapped the phytoplankton
distributions across the ocean.
distributions across the ocean.
130
415080
3496
07:10
For the first time, you could look at them
one cell at a time in real time
one cell at a time in real time
131
418600
3616
07:14
and see what was going on --
that was very exciting.
that was very exciting.
132
422240
2816
07:17
But one day, Rob noticed
some faint signals
some faint signals
133
425080
3016
07:20
coming out of the instrument
134
428120
1496
07:21
that we dismissed as electronic noise
135
429640
3696
07:25
for probably a year
136
433360
2296
07:27
before we realized that it wasn't
really behaving like noise.
really behaving like noise.
137
435680
3336
07:31
It had some regular patterns to it.
138
439040
2160
07:34
To make a long story short,
139
442440
1440
07:36
it was tiny, tiny little cells,
140
444640
2536
07:39
less than one-one hundredth
the width of a human hair
the width of a human hair
141
447200
3376
07:42
that contain chlorophyl.
142
450600
1816
07:44
That was Prochlorococcus.
143
452440
1360
07:47
So remember this slide that I showed you?
144
455040
2760
07:50
If you shine blue light
on that same sample,
on that same sample,
145
458680
2616
07:53
this is what you see:
146
461320
1200
07:55
two tiny little red light-emitting cells.
147
463280
3856
07:59
Those are Prochlorococcus.
148
467160
2120
08:02
They are the smallest and most abundant
photosynthetic cell on the planet.
photosynthetic cell on the planet.
149
470760
4040
08:09
At first, we didn't know what they were,
150
477071
1905
08:11
so we called the "little greens."
151
479000
1776
08:12
It was a very affectionate name for them.
152
480800
1976
08:14
Ultimately, we knew enough about them
to give them the name Prochlorococcus,
to give them the name Prochlorococcus,
153
482800
3616
08:18
which means "primitive green berry."
154
486440
2216
08:20
And it was about that time
155
488680
1440
08:23
that I became so smitten
by these little cells
by these little cells
156
491480
2776
08:26
that I redirected my entire lab
to study them and nothing else,
to study them and nothing else,
157
494280
4120
08:31
and my loyalty to them
has really paid off.
has really paid off.
158
499760
3016
08:34
They've given me a tremendous amount,
including bringing me here.
including bringing me here.
159
502800
3560
08:39
(Applause)
160
507880
5360
08:45
So over the years,
we and others, many others,
we and others, many others,
161
513799
2976
08:48
have studied Prochlorococcus
across the oceans
across the oceans
162
516799
3377
08:52
and found that they're very abundant
over wide, wide ranges
over wide, wide ranges
163
520200
4576
08:56
in the open ocean ecosystem.
164
524800
1640
08:59
They're particularly abundant
in what are called the open ocean gyres.
in what are called the open ocean gyres.
165
527680
4096
09:03
These are sometimes referred to
as the deserts of the oceans,
as the deserts of the oceans,
166
531800
3736
09:07
but they're not deserts at all.
167
535560
2016
09:09
Their deep blue water is teeming
168
537600
2536
09:12
with a hundred million
Prochlorococcus cells per liter.
Prochlorococcus cells per liter.
169
540160
3400
09:16
If you crowd them together
like we do in our cultures,
like we do in our cultures,
170
544360
2616
09:19
you can see their beautiful
green chlorophyl.
green chlorophyl.
171
547000
3536
09:22
One of those test tubes
has a billion Prochlorococcus in it,
has a billion Prochlorococcus in it,
172
550560
4616
09:27
and as I told you earlier,
173
555200
1456
09:28
there are three billion billion billion
of them on the planet.
of them on the planet.
174
556680
3176
09:31
That's three octillion,
175
559880
2216
09:34
if you care to convert.
176
562120
1680
09:36
(Laughter)
177
564480
1696
09:38
And collectively, they weigh
more than the human population
more than the human population
178
566200
3896
09:42
and they photosynthesize
as much as all of the crops on land.
as much as all of the crops on land.
179
570120
3960
09:47
They're incredibly important
in the global ocean.
in the global ocean.
180
575080
3440
09:51
So over the years,
as we were studying them
as we were studying them
181
579120
2496
09:53
and found how abundant they were,
182
581640
2176
09:55
we thought, hmm, this is really strange.
183
583840
1936
09:57
How can a single species be so abundant
across so many different habitats?
across so many different habitats?
184
585800
3840
10:02
And as we isolated more into culture,
185
590640
2016
10:04
we learned that they
are different ecotypes.
are different ecotypes.
186
592680
2136
10:06
There are some that are adapted
to the high-light intensities
to the high-light intensities
187
594840
2896
10:09
in the surface water,
188
597760
1256
10:11
and there are some that are adapted
to the low light in the deep ocean.
to the low light in the deep ocean.
189
599040
3576
10:14
In fact, those cells that live
in the bottom of the sunlit zone
in the bottom of the sunlit zone
190
602640
3576
10:18
are the most efficient
photosynthesizers of any known cell.
photosynthesizers of any known cell.
191
606240
4776
10:23
And then we learned
that there are some strains
that there are some strains
192
611040
2336
10:25
that grow optimally along the equator,
193
613400
3416
10:28
where there are higher temperatures,
194
616840
1736
10:30
and some that do better
at the cooler temperatures
at the cooler temperatures
195
618600
2376
10:33
as you go north and south.
196
621000
1256
10:34
So as we studied these more and more
and kept finding more and more diversity,
and kept finding more and more diversity,
197
622280
3696
10:38
we thought, oh my God,
how diverse are these things?
how diverse are these things?
198
626000
2440
10:41
And about that time, it became
possible to sequence their genomes
possible to sequence their genomes
199
629040
3256
10:44
and really look under the hood
and look at their genetic makeup.
and look at their genetic makeup.
200
632320
3600
10:49
And we've been able to sequence
the genomes of cultures that we have,
the genomes of cultures that we have,
201
637280
4416
10:53
but also recently, using flow cytometry,
202
641720
2376
10:56
we can isolate
individual cells from the wild
individual cells from the wild
203
644120
2856
10:59
and sequence their individual genomes,
204
647000
2176
11:01
and now we've sequenced
hundreds of Prochlorococcus.
hundreds of Prochlorococcus.
205
649200
2880
11:04
And although each cell
has roughly 2,000 genes --
has roughly 2,000 genes --
206
652840
3936
11:08
that's one tenth the size
of the human genome --
of the human genome --
207
656800
3576
11:12
as you sequence more and more,
208
660400
1456
11:13
you find that they only have
a thousand of those in common
a thousand of those in common
209
661880
4696
11:18
and the other thousand
for each individual strain
for each individual strain
210
666600
3096
11:21
is drawn from an enormous gene pool,
211
669720
2576
11:24
and it reflects the particular environment
that the cell might have thrived in,
that the cell might have thrived in,
212
672320
6616
11:30
not just high or low light
or high or low temperature,
or high or low temperature,
213
678960
2976
11:33
but whether there are
nutrients that limit them
nutrients that limit them
214
681960
2776
11:36
like nitrogen, phosphorus or iron.
215
684760
2456
11:39
It reflects the habitat
that they come from.
that they come from.
216
687240
2520
11:42
Think of it this way.
217
690400
1200
11:45
If each cell is a smartphone
218
693040
3256
11:48
and the apps are the genes,
219
696320
1920
11:51
when you get your smartphone,
it comes with these built-in apps.
it comes with these built-in apps.
220
699080
3456
11:54
Those are the ones that you can't delete
if you're an iPhone person.
if you're an iPhone person.
221
702560
3216
11:57
You press on them and they don't jiggle
and they don't have x's.
and they don't have x's.
222
705800
3056
12:00
Even if you don't want them,
you can't get rid of them.
you can't get rid of them.
223
708880
2616
12:03
(Laughter)
224
711520
2576
12:06
Those are like the core genes
of Prochlorococcus.
of Prochlorococcus.
225
714120
3136
12:09
They're the essence of the phone.
226
717280
2056
12:11
But you have a huge pool
of apps to draw upon
of apps to draw upon
227
719360
4976
12:16
to make your phone custom-designed
for your particular lifestyle and habitat.
for your particular lifestyle and habitat.
228
724360
5736
12:22
If you travel a lot,
you'll have a lot of travel apps,
you'll have a lot of travel apps,
229
730120
3816
12:25
if you're into financial things,
you might have a lot of financial apps,
you might have a lot of financial apps,
230
733960
4816
12:30
or if you're like me,
231
738800
1536
12:32
you probably have a lot of weather apps,
232
740360
1936
12:34
hoping one of them will tell you
what you want to hear.
what you want to hear.
233
742320
2616
12:36
(Laughter)
234
744960
1336
12:38
And I've learned the last
couple days in Vancouver
couple days in Vancouver
235
746320
2376
12:40
that you don't need a weather app --
you just need an umbrella.
you just need an umbrella.
236
748720
2976
12:43
So --
237
751720
1216
12:44
(Laughter)
238
752960
2176
12:47
(Applause)
239
755160
2696
12:49
So just as your smartphone tells us
something about how you live your life,
something about how you live your life,
240
757880
5936
12:55
your lifestyle,
241
763840
1296
12:57
reading the genome
of a Prochlorococcus cell
of a Prochlorococcus cell
242
765160
2616
12:59
tells us what the pressures are
in its environment.
in its environment.
243
767800
4040
13:04
It's like reading its diary,
244
772680
1976
13:06
not only telling us how it got
through its day or its week,
through its day or its week,
245
774680
3776
13:10
but even its evolutionary history.
246
778480
2680
13:14
As we studied -- I said we've
sequenced hundreds of these cells,
sequenced hundreds of these cells,
247
782200
3216
13:17
and we can now project
248
785440
1856
13:19
what is the total genetic size --
249
787320
4136
13:23
gene pool --
250
791480
1216
13:24
of the Prochlorococcus
federation, as we call it.
federation, as we call it.
251
792720
3496
13:28
It's like a superorganism.
252
796240
1656
13:29
And it turns out that projections are
253
797920
2616
13:32
that the collective has 80,000 genes.
254
800560
3016
13:35
That's four times the size
of the human genome.
of the human genome.
255
803600
2936
13:38
And it's that diversity of gene pools
256
806560
4416
13:43
that makes it possible for them
257
811000
2016
13:45
to dominate these large
regions of the oceans
regions of the oceans
258
813040
2256
13:47
and maintain their stability
259
815320
1736
13:49
year in and year out.
260
817080
1920
13:52
So when I daydream about Prochlorococcus,
261
820680
3176
13:55
which I probably do more
than is healthy --
than is healthy --
262
823880
2456
13:58
(Laughter)
263
826360
1696
14:00
I imagine them floating out there,
264
828080
3376
14:03
doing their job,
265
831480
1296
14:04
maintaining the planet,
266
832800
1536
14:06
feeding the animals.
267
834360
3176
14:09
But also I inevitably end up
268
837560
2176
14:11
thinking about what
a masterpiece they are,
a masterpiece they are,
269
839760
3416
14:15
finely tuned by millions
of years of evolution.
of years of evolution.
270
843200
3896
14:19
With 2,000 genes,
271
847120
2000
14:21
they can do what
all of our human ingenuity
all of our human ingenuity
272
849960
2456
14:24
has not figured out how to do yet.
273
852440
2256
14:26
They can take solar energy, CO2
274
854720
2976
14:29
and turn it into chemical energy
in the form of organic carbon,
in the form of organic carbon,
275
857720
3496
14:33
locking that sunlight
in those carbon bonds.
in those carbon bonds.
276
861240
3280
14:37
If we could figure out
exactly how they do this,
exactly how they do this,
277
865760
3536
14:41
it could inspire designs
278
869320
3016
14:44
that could reduce
our dependency on fossil fuels,
our dependency on fossil fuels,
279
872360
2936
14:47
which brings my story full circle.
280
875320
2800
14:51
The fossil fuels that are buried
that we're burning
that we're burning
281
879160
2896
14:54
took millions of years
for the earth to bury those,
for the earth to bury those,
282
882080
4816
14:58
including those ancestors
of Prochlorococcus,
of Prochlorococcus,
283
886920
3016
15:01
and we're burning that now
in the blink of an eye
in the blink of an eye
284
889960
2896
15:04
on geological timescales.
285
892880
1936
15:06
Carbon dioxide is increasing
in the atmosphere.
in the atmosphere.
286
894840
2896
15:09
It's a greenhouse gas.
287
897760
1576
15:11
The oceans are starting to warm.
288
899360
2096
15:13
So the question is,
what is that going to do
what is that going to do
289
901480
2736
15:16
for my Prochlorococcus?
290
904240
2496
15:18
And I'm sure you're expecting me to say
that my beloved microbes are doomed,
that my beloved microbes are doomed,
291
906760
4936
15:23
but in fact they're not.
292
911720
1320
15:25
Projections are that their populations
will expand as the ocean warms
will expand as the ocean warms
293
913960
5656
15:31
to 30 percent larger by the year 2100.
294
919640
3880
15:36
Does that make me happy?
295
924000
1400
15:38
Well, it makes me happy
for Prochlorococcus of course --
for Prochlorococcus of course --
296
926320
2656
15:41
(Laughter)
297
929000
2296
15:43
but not for the planet.
298
931320
2400
15:46
There are winners and losers
299
934480
1376
15:47
in this global experiment
that we've undertaken,
that we've undertaken,
300
935880
3256
15:51
and it's projected that among the losers
301
939160
2976
15:54
will be some of those
larger phytoplankton,
larger phytoplankton,
302
942160
2056
15:56
those charismatic ones
303
944240
1296
15:57
which are expected
to be reduced in numbers,
to be reduced in numbers,
304
945560
2816
16:00
and they're the ones that feed
the zooplankton that feed the fish
the zooplankton that feed the fish
305
948400
3496
16:03
that we like to harvest.
306
951920
1400
16:08
So Prochlorococcus has been
my muse for the past 35 years,
my muse for the past 35 years,
307
956600
4456
16:13
but there are legions
of other microbes out there
of other microbes out there
308
961080
2376
16:15
maintaining our planet for us.
309
963480
2160
16:18
They're out there
310
966360
2056
16:20
ready and waiting for us to find them
so they can tell their stories, too.
so they can tell their stories, too.
311
968440
4256
16:24
Thank you.
312
972720
1216
16:25
(Applause)
313
973960
5600
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Penny Chisholm - Microbial oceanographer, authorPenny Chisholm studies an extremely tiny microorganism that plays an enormous role in ocean ecosystems. Discovered only three decades ago, it has defined her career and inspired her to think differently about life on Earth.
Why you should listen
Penny Chisholm (whose scientific works are published under the name Sallie Chisholm) has been studying microscopic plants called phytoplankton since she was an undergraduate. After she joined the MIT faculty, in the 1980s she was lucky enough to be involved in the discovery of the smallest and most abundant phytoplankter on the planet: Prochlorococcus. Less that 1/100th the width of a human hair, this tiny photosynthetic microbe thrives in the sunlit surface waters across large swaths of the global ocean, where it uses the sun's energy to release oxygen, consume carbon dioxide and grow. There are an estimated three billion billion billion of these tiny cells in the global ocean where they provide sustenance for other microorganisms and fuel ocean food webs. "Prochlorococcus has been my muse for more than 30 years," Chisholm says. "It has taught me an enormous amount about the role of photosynthesis in shaping our planet, and about the power of diversity. Most important, it has taught me to be humbled by the mind-blowing complexity of the natural world."
Chisholm is one of ten Institute Professors at MIT and has received many honors for her research on Prochlorococcus, including the 2011 National Medal of Science awarded by President Obama at the White House. She has also co-authored a series of children's books about the role of photosynthesis in shaping our world.
Penny Chisholm | Speaker | TED.com