The Dutch microbiologist Van Niel first demonstrated anoxygenic photosynthesis in soil and water bacteria. He generalized his work by hypothesizing:

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Van Niel generalized his work by hypothesizing that every molecule in nature can be used as a source of carbon or energy by some microorganism and microbes are found in every environment on Earth. However, he did not hypothesize that photosynthesis results in oxygen production. In fact, he demonstrated that some forms of photosynthesis (anoxygenic photosynthesis) do not result in oxygen production.

The Dutch Microbiologist Van Niel First Demonstrated Anoxygenic Photosynthesis in Soil