Iron

Iron (represented in-game using the symbol ) is a Compound (technically an element) which can be used by cells to generate ATP via Iron Oxidation. Iron Oxidation is carried out by the Rusticyanin and Ferroplast organelles.

Scientific Background

Iron is a metallic element belonging to the first transition series and group 8 on the periodic table; it has an atomic number of 26 and is represented by the symbol Fe.

All known organisms on Earth require iron for some aspect of their metabolism. The most useful form of environmentally-occurring iron for microbes is ferrous iron (Fe²⁺), which can donate an electron and become oxidized to ferric iron (Fe³⁺). Various real-world microbes express proteins known as Rusticyanins, which carry out iron oxidation as part of a chemical reaction which generates protons, a critical step of their electron transport chain.