Question

1. Why might the origin of life on the planet begin with chemolithotrophic organisms versus heterotrophic organisms? What is the evidence to support such a theory?

Answer 1

The early atmosphere contains inorganic and organic molecules. Chemolithotrophs are the only organisms capable of producing energy from these inorganic materials. Also, the early atmosphere is anaerobic, so chemotrophs like Fe- bacteria, S- bacteria use sunlight to synthesize energy and become diversified. Heterotrophic organisms depend on other organisms for their survival. So they cannot leave in the early atmosphere.

The experiment by Miller-Urey supporting the evolution of Prokaryotic chemolithotrophs.