Final answer:
Plantlike photosynthesis that releases oxygen occurs in cyanobacteria. These bacteria perform oxygenic photosynthesis and have been instrumental in producing the oxygen that makes up our current atmosphere. Cyanobacteria contain chlorophyll, allowing them to convert sunlight into chemical energy similarly to plants.
Step-by-step explanation:
Plantlike photosynthesis that releases oxygen (O₂) occurs in cyanobacteria. These photosynthetic bacteria are known for their ability to perform oxygenic photosynthesis, which is the process that most closely resembles the photosynthesis carried out by plants and algae. Cyanobacteria contain chlorophyll, which allows them to harness sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. This process not only sustains their growth but has also been critical to the evolution of life on Earth by contributing to the oxygenation of the atmosphere billions of years ago.
Cyanobacteria differ from other bacteria, such as actinomycetes, chemoautotrophic bacteria, chlamydias, and archaea, which do not perform oxygenic photosynthesis. Instead, these other types of bacteria either do not photosynthesize at all, or they follow different metabolic pathways that do not produce oxygen. It's worth noting that the reference to chlorophyll in cyanobacteria suggests a similarity to the chlorophyll found in plants, indicating a shared evolutionary lineage with plant chloroplasts, which are thought to have originated from endosymbiosis with an ancestral photosynthetic bacteria.