Thermosynthase
| Organelle Details | |
|---|---|
| Thermosynthase |  |
| |
| Base Cost (MP) | 50 |
| Requires Nucleus | No |
| Processes | Bacterial Thermosynthesis |
| Enzymes | None |
| Size (Hexes) | 1 |
| Osmoregulation Cost | 1 |
| Storage | 0.5 |
| Unique | No |
| Upgrades | None |
| Internal Name | thermosynthase |
Produces energy in the form of ATP 
using Temperature 
gradients in the environment. Prokaryotic form of the more efficient Thermoplast.
Speculative organelle not found in real life. Unavailable in games with LAWK (Life As We Know it) turned on.
It is a grouping of membranous compartments containing thermosensitive enzymes. The enzymes are able to use the energy of rising Temperature in their surroundings to produce ATP in a process called thermosynthesis.
Requirements
Thermosynthase only appears in games with "LAWK" turned off in game settings. If organelle unlocks are enabled in game settings, the organelle will be unlocked once the following condition has been met for the player cell:
- Is in a patch with at least 50 °C Temperature .
Processes
Bacterial Thermosynthesis: Temperature increase → ATP
Generates energy from increasing Temperature . The thermosensitive enzymes change shape as the Temperature rises, allowing the recycling of ADP into ATP . As the cell cools, the enzymes return to their previous shape, allowing the process to repeat. Less efficient form of the Thermosynthesis present in Thermoplasts.
The rate of its ATP production scales with Temperature delta.
Modifications
No modifications.
Effects
Enables thermal vision, which can be toggled on and off. This overlays the relative temperature of the water onto the screen, with hotter areas looking more red.
Upgrades
No upgrades.
Strategy
Probably the most mobile form of autotrophy, Thermosynthesis requires almost constant movement. You need to go from colder areas to hotter ones and back again. After the cell's temperature has stopped increasing, ATP production drops to zero. It is best to activate thermal vision to see the hot and cold areas around your cell, to most effectively steer through them. Thermosynthase is much more effective in much hotter patches, and so is best used in the Volcanic Vents.
Because Thermosynthase's ATP production will stop frequently, it is important to have a second energy source, or else you will take continual damage from lack of ATP .
More efficient still is the Thermoplast, available once a cell evolves a Nucleus. Like all prokaryotic organelles with eukaryotic counterparts, we recommend replacing Thermosynthase with Thermoplasts when possible.
Scientific Background
Thermosynthesis was first proposed by Anthonie Muller in a 1983 paper "Thermoelectric energy conversion could be an energy source of living organisms", in Physics Letters A, vol. 96, Issue 6, p. 319-321
Muller even suggested thermosynthesis could have been a precursor to the earliest (sulfur-based) photosynthesis. In "A Search For Thermosynthesis: Starvation Survival In Thermally Cycled Bacteria", https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0604084.