Yeah, that was a glaring error by the author of the article... However, upon re-reading, I noticed this sentence a few paragraphs above:
> "The bacteria get all of their carbon from just one source, be it methane or carbon dioxide,"
So I'm guessing the author really wanted to say "the bacteria's ability to fix carbon from methane and carbon dioxide is of particular interest".
I'm guessing that the full cycle is the same as the above-ground cycle of photosynthesis (CO2 + H2O + energy => O2 + food) and respiration (O2 + food => CO2 + H2O), except replacing photosynthesis by chemosynthesis.
> "The bacteria get all of their carbon from just one source, be it methane or carbon dioxide,"
So I'm guessing the author really wanted to say "the bacteria's ability to fix carbon from methane and carbon dioxide is of particular interest".
I'm guessing that the full cycle is the same as the above-ground cycle of photosynthesis (CO2 + H2O + energy => O2 + food) and respiration (O2 + food => CO2 + H2O), except replacing photosynthesis by chemosynthesis.