| Comments |
The ability of cyanobacteria to perform oxygenic photosynthesis is thought to have converted the early reducing atmosphere into an oxidizing one, which dramatically changed the composition of life forms on Earth by provoking an explosion of biodiversity and leading to the near-extinction of oxygen-intolerant organisms. For oxygenation of atmosphere by photosynthesizing cyanobacteria 2200-2400 MYA see BNID 105549. For discussion of validity of the above value (3200 MYA) see ref to BNID 105549 p. 161, right column 2nd paragraph. For date of 3,600mya see Gould 2008 PMID 18315522 abstract |