Dr. Fazale Rana Explains The Complexity of Photosynthetic Bacteria

- Hi Mr. Fazale, how are you?

- Fine, thank you. 

- I have some questions about your field. Bacteria, bioluminescence etc. So should we start? My first question is: how do bacteria produce energy through photosynthesis?

- Well, photosynthesis is a very elaborate process that bacteria and other organisms use to generate energy. And it’s essentially light impinging upon the bacterial chlorophyll molecules that then convert that light energy into chemical energy through a process of what are called the light reactions and the dark reactions. And one of the things that's really interesting is that these photosynthetic bacteria are probably some of the most complex bacteria in the world and it looks as if their origin happened very very early in the history of the Earth. These bacteria show up suddenly without any kind of history. They are among the first life forms on the planet and that is a profound mystery for evolutionary biologists; how do we explain that early appearance of bacteria?

- How old is the oldest bacteria?

- The oldest photosynthetic bacteria very well may be about 3.8 billion years old. And that’s interestingly enough about the first point in the Earth’s history when life would be possible. So that is a profound mystery. How could these bacteria appear that quickly from an evolutionary standpoint? But for me, as a Creationist, I see this is very powerful evidence that there had to be a Creator that introduced these very first bacteria on Earth.