Around two and a half billion years ago, Earth’s earliest life forms faced mass extinction. These microscopic life forms had colonized the entire planet. Despite being plentiful, diverse and efficient, these microorganisms fell to a deadly and invisible enemy that appeared out of the blue. The enemy was a gas that is absolutely crucial to our survival today: atmospheric oxygen. It fuels our metabolism and without it, we would suffocate. Despite being indispensable to most living things today, the gas was toxic to all the microorganisms back then that had evolved without it. Oxygen is a highly reactive chemical. If a cell lacks mechanisms to process and filter oxygen, the gas will attack the various parts of the cell. Most cells living in that era were unable to adapt and were wiped out.

Aplantex harnesses the power of photosynthesis to produce valuable molecules essential to the health and well-being of people.

But where did the oxygen come from? Surprisingly, it came from other, rather exceptional cells: bacteria that were able to process it properly. Those same cells managed an even more surprising feat – they learned to feed off of light and carbon dioxide. These cells were producing the oxygen that was so toxic to most forms of microbial life at the time as a by-product of processing carbon dioxide (CO₂) thanks to the energy provided by light. The mechanism of using the energy of light to process carbon dioxide is called photosynthesis. The bacteria that perfected it are called cyanobacteria. Today, practically all plants and algae provide the foundational living materials to our ecosystems through photosynthesis. The extremely efficient chemistry at play creates organic molecules thanks to mere light and atmospheric CO₂. The very same CO₂ that contributes to global warming, and the emissions of which we are seeking to curb, is like a fertilizer that feeds the growth of plants through photosynthesis.

At Aplantex, we’ve put photosynthesis to work producing high-value molecules intended for sale in the various markets related to the cosmetics, agri-food and biopharmaceutical sectors. We’re doing our part by capturing the CO₂ that has been contributing to global warming and producing the oxygen that has become indispensable to our survival.

Share : Back to blog