What is a Producer?

• Producers are creatures capable of synthesising basic carbohydrates like glucose from carbon dioxide gas.
• The creation of organic compounds from inorganic carbon sources is referred to as primary production.
• This mechanism can obtain its energy from solar radiation, chemical processes, or geothermal vents in the deep ocean.
• Most producers on land are plants.
• Algae and plankton predominate in marine output.

Types of Producers

Phototrophs and chemotrophs are the two most common forms of primary producers.

Phototrophs 

Word origin: photo– (light) + troph (nourishment)

• Phototrophs are organisms that catch photons to generate complex chemical substances (such as carbohydrates) and energy.
• They utilise the light’s energy to carry out cellular metabolic activities. It is a frequent misunderstanding that phototrophs must be photosynthetic.
• Many, but not all, phototrophs photosynthesize: they transform carbon dioxide into organic material to be employed structurally, functionally, or as a source for further catabolic processes (e.g. in the form of starches, sugars and fats).
• All phototrophs use either electron transport chains or direct proton pumping to build an electrochemical gradient, which is utilised by ATP synthase to generate the cellular energy currency, ATP.
• Phototrophs may be heterotrophs or autotrophs. If their electron and hydrogen suppliers are inorganic compounds (such as Na2S2O3, as in some purple sulphur bacteria, or H2S, as in some green sulphur bacteria), they can also be referred to as lithotrophs; hence, some photoautotrophs are also referred to as photolithoautotrophs.
• Rhodobacter capsulatus, Chromatium, and Chlorobium are a few examples of phototrophic organisms.
• In order to use light as a source of energy, photoautotrophs transform energy from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into organic compounds via photosynthesis. Due to their ability to produce their own food, they occupy the first trophic level in the food chain. They supply nourishment to several forms of life. They consist of plants, algae, and certain bacteria. These individuals are also known as the producers.
• Photoautotrophs are distinct from photoheterotrophs, another group of light-dependent organisms. Photoheterotrophs are entirely light-dependent organisms that produce ATP by photophosphorylation.
• These creatures obtain carbon from sources other than carbon dioxide. They may collect organic molecules like as carbohydrates, fatty acids, and alcohols from the environment in order to satisfy their carbon needs.
• Purple non-sulfur bacteria, green non-sulfur bacteria, and heliobacteria are these species.

On occasion, the terms’secondary producers’ and ‘tertiary producers’ are employed. Animals that devour plants are secondary producers because they “generate” biomass for their predators. Likewise, carnivores that are consumed by other species are referred to as “tertiary producers.” At each trophic level, only 10% of the available calories are available to the consumer. Therefore, energy pyramids with more than four tiers, or “quaternary producers,” are uncommon.

Examples of Producers

• Green plants, tiny shrubs, fruits, phytoplankton, and algae are some examples of producers in the food chain.

Chemotrophs

Word origin: chemo- + troph (nourishment)

• Chemotrophs are creatures that receive their energy through chemosynthesis rather than photosynthesis.
• Chemosynthesis is performed by chemotrophs by the oxidation of environmental electron sources.
• Chemotrophs can be either chemoautotrophic or heterotrophic. Autotrophs are chemoautotrophs. This indicates that they can create their own food through chemosynthesis.
• Chemosynthesis is the process through which certain organisms, including particular bacteria, employ chemical energy to make carbohydrates.
• They may utilise inorganic substances as reducing agents, such as hydrogen sulphide, sulphur, ammonium, and ferrous iron, and create organic molecules from carbon dioxide.
• Chemoautotrophs are found in adverse environments, such as deep marine vents, where light is difficult to penetrate.
• These organisms include methanogens, halophiles, nitrifiers, thermoacidophiles, and sulphur oxidizers, among others.
• Chemoheterotrophs are chemotrophic organisms that are heterotrophic. They lack the ability to fix carbon to create their own organic molecules.
• Further classifications include chemolithoheterotrophs and chemoorganoheterotrophs. Chemolithoheterotrophs use inorganic energy sources, while chemoorganoheterotrophs use organic energy sources.

Examples of Chemotrophs

• Examples of chemotrophs include mushrooms and bacteria.

Examples of Producers

The three broad categories of photosynthetic producers are plants, cyanobacteria, and phytoplankton.

Cyanobacteria

• Cyanobacteria are prokaryotes capable of photosynthesis.
• A fossil record dating back more than three billion years indicates that they are among the oldest life forms to have appeared on planet.
• Over the course of two billion years, they also contributed to the formation of an oxygen-rich atmosphere, paving the path for the life forms we observe today.
• Due to their photosynthetic activities, they were previously categorised as algae, and the name “blue-green algae” is still used to refer to these prokaryotes informally.
• Cyanobacteria are regarded to be the endosymbionts from which chloroplasts developed.
• In addition to membrane protein complexes, these prokaryotes have membrane protein complexes in their cell membranes. Some of these membranes produce thylakoid sheets that mirror the chloroplast’s internal structure.
• These commonalities qualify them as model animals for photosynthesis research. However, the metabolic routes utilised by contemporary cyanobacteria and plants are distinct.
• The maritime nature of these prokaryotes necessitates that they ‘concentrate’ carbon dioxide in small vesicle-bound compartments in order to increase the efficacy of photosynthetic enzymes such as RuBisCO.
• They are essential to the health and survival of marine ecosystems because they play a significant role in producing carbon and nitrogen that is bioavailable.
• Ammonia is used to generate nitrogen-containing molecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids, from nitrogen.
• Since cyanobacteria are devoured by species on the ocean floor, in shallow waters, and in broad seas, they are among the most important primary producers in the marine environment.

Phytoplankton

• Phytoplankton are microscopic, free-floating plants responsible for the majority of the ocean’s photosynthetic activities.
• They are the foundation of marine ecosystems and maintain oxygen levels in both the water and atmosphere.
• They are consumed by minute herbivores known as zooplankton, which are in turn consumed by organisms higher up the food chain.
• 250 million years ago, the advent of phytoplankton is believed to have contributed to a massive evolutionary explosion.
• Following a major extinction at the end of the Paleozoic era, an increase in nutrients and a decrease in predation allowed these marine plants to thrive.
• Their abundance and increased nutrient content helped primary consumers such as zooplankton to flourish.
• As these groups of organisms grew and colonised greater ocean regions, some populations diversified and adapted to new conditions, resulting in a dramatic increase in the number of species in the oceans.

Plants

• There is astounding diversity among plants, ranging from miniscule organisms to towering redwoods.
• Remarkably, many diverse species have the same photosynthetic process.
• Photosynthesis happens in specialised organelles known as chloroplasts, which contain pigments like as chlorophyll, and which are responsible for photosynthesis.
• These pigments are typically found in light-harvesting complexes, a membrane-bound protein scaffold. Here, oxidation caused by light causes the pigment to lose one electron.
• The electron then joins an electron transport chain, where it goes from one protein to the next, losing energy at each step and undergoing oxidation and reduction reactions.
• A proton gradient is fueled by the transit of a charged particle along the electron transport chain.
• Together, the proton gradient and the electron transport chain drive the creation of the cell’s energy currency, adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
• The photo-oxidized chlorophyll pigment is subsequently restored to its original state by breaking a water molecule, which releases molecular oxygen.

Functions of Producers

• The primary source of biomass on Earth is producers. The first trophic level in every ecosystem, they form the base of all energy pyramids.
• Primary producers exploit the sun’s or chemical reactions’ energy to convert inorganic carbon into carbohydrates.
• As a result of their role in sequestering carbon dioxide, they play a key role in maintaining appropriate global temperatures and yearly precipitation.
• Photosynthesis also produces oxygen, which is used by all organisms in order to liberate the chemical energy trapped in carbohydrates.
• As pioneer species, producers such as lichens are essential for transforming the abiotic environment to make it more habitable. They speed up the process of weathering and increase the deposition of organic matter, resulting in the creation of soil.
• In addition to abiotic conditions, producers have an important influence in shaping the species variety of a region.
• When plankton are the dominant producers, for instance, filter-feeding herbivores will proliferate, followed by carnivores capable of consuming these species. However, locations with towering trees will end up favouring herbivores such as giraffes that can reach the top branches, and will then prefer predators who can hunt these swift creatures. Consequently, the main producer is the basis of the entire ecosystem.

References

• https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/producer
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithotroph
• https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/phototroph
• https://biologydictionary.net/producer/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Producer
• https://www.stlouisfed.org/education/exploring-economics-video-series/consumers-and-producers
• https://www.britannica.com/science/producer-biology
• https://www.expii.com/t/producer-food-chain-definition-role-10313
• https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/cbse-biology-class-10/section/4.3/primary/lesson/producers-consumers-and-decomposers/
• https://www.shaalaa.com/question-bank-solutions/explain-terms-producer-consumer-give-two-examples-producers-two-consumers-food-chain_26316
• https://www.doubtnut.com/pcmb-questions/explain-the-terms-producer-and-consumer-give-two-examples-of-producers-and-two-of-consumers-56807
• https://www.econlib.org/library/Topics/HighSchool/Producers.html
• https://www.lidolearning.com/questions/bi-bb-lakhmirs10-ch5-ex-q20/explain-the-terms-producer-and/