Cornelis B. van Niel

Dutch biologist

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July 1, 2026

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Cornelis B. van Niel was a Dutch biologist who made significant contributions to understanding photosynthesis. He recognized similarities between the photosynthetic processes in green plants and certain sulfur bacteria.1

Van Niel proposed that in photosynthesis, hydrogen is transferred from a source like water (in plants) or hydrogen sulfide (in bacteria) to an acceptor molecule. This reduced acceptor then reacts with carbon dioxide to form carbohydrates, releasing oxygen in plants or sulfur in bacteria. His work was crucial in correcting the then-popular theory that oxygen was derived from carbon dioxide, definitively showing it comes from water. This research, using isotopic tracers, provided strong support for his theory.1

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protist
Defining the protists
…universally overlooked, Roger Yate Stanier, Cornelius B. van Niel, and their colleagues formally proposed the division of all living things into two great groups, the prokaryotes and the eukaryotes. This organization was based on characteristics—such as the presence or absence of a true nucleus, the simplicity or complexity of the…
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…universally overlooked, Roger Yate Stanier, Cornelius B. van Niel, and their colleagues formally proposed the division of all living things into two great groups, the prokaryotes and the eukaryotes. This organization was based on characteristics—such as the presence or absence of a true nucleus, the simplicity or complexity of the…
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photosynthesis
Development of the idea
In the 1930s Dutch biologist Cornelis van Niel recognized that the utilization of carbon dioxide to form organic compounds was similar in the two types of photosynthetic organisms. Suggesting that differences existed in the light-dependent stage and in the nature of the compounds used as a source of hydrogen atoms,…
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In the 1930s Dutch biologist Cornelis van Niel recognized that the utilization of carbon dioxide to form organic compounds was similar in the two types of photosynthetic organisms. Suggesting that differences existed in the light-dependent stage and in the nature of the compounds used as a source of hydrogen atoms,…
Read More