Bacterial Taxa That Limit Sulfur Flux from the Ocean

Howard, Erinn C.; Henriksen, James R.; Buchan, Alison; Reisch, Chris R.; Bürgmann, Helmut; Welsh, Rory M.; Ye, Wenying; González, José M.; Mace, Kimberly A.; Joye, Samantha B.; Kiene, Ronald P.; Whitman, William B.; Moran, Mary Ann

doi:10.1126/science.1130657

Cited by 298 publications

(334 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…A similar idea was previously invoked by Moran et al to explain the production of DMS during growth on CO (Moran et al, 2008). Given the important role of methylsulphides in the global carbon and sulphur cycles (Howard et al, 2006), further study of this interesting phenomenon is warranted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Regulation of putative methyl‐sulphide methyltransferases in Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A

Bose

Kulkarni

Metcalf

2009

Molecular Microbiology

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SummaryThe regulation of the Methanosarcina acetivorans mtsD, mtsF and mtsH genes, which encode putative corrinoid/methyltransferase isozymes involved in methylsulphide metabolism, was examined by a variety of methods, suggesting that their expression is regulated at both the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Transcripts of all three genes, measured by quantitative reverse transcription PCR, were shown to be most abundant during growth on methanol with dimethylsulphide (DMS). Transcript levels were also high in media with CO or methylamines, but much lower with methanol. In contrast, translational fusions to mtsD showed high expression levels on CO or methanol with DMS, while the mtsF translational fusion showed highest reporter gene activity on methylamines with much lower expression on CO or methanol with DMS. The activity of mtsD and mtsF fusions was very low when the strains were grown in methanol or acetate. Expression of the mtsH fusion was not detected on any substrate, despite the presence of an mRNA transcript. The transcription start sites of all three genes were determined by 5Ј-RACE revealing large leader sequences for each transcript. Characterization of deletion mutants lacking putative regulatory genes suggests that MA0862 (msrF), MA4383 (msrC) and MA4560 (msrG) act as transcriptional activators of mtsD, mtsF and mtsH respectively.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Regulation of putative methyl‐sulphide methyltransferases in Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A

Bose

Kulkarni

Metcalf

2009

Molecular Microbiology

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“…We therefore retrieved DMSP gene sequences from the available Monterey Bay metagenomic data sets (Rich et al, 2011) and designed species-specific PCR assays that could be employed on the ESP to characterize gene dynamics over time. For dmdA, the gene encoding the first step in the demethylation pathway (Howard et al, 2006), 21% of the Monterey Bay hits had highest homology to the HTCC2255 gene with an average identity of 97%. For dddP, the gene encoding the first step in the cleavage pathway (Todd et al, 2009), 43% of the hits had highest homology to HTCC2255, also with an average identity of 97%.…”

Section: Roseobacter Htcc2255 Dmsp Genes In Monterey Baymentioning

confidence: 99%

Single-taxon field measurements of bacterial gene regulation controlling DMSP fate

et al. 2015

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The 'bacterial switch' is a proposed regulatory point in the global sulfur cycle that routes dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) to two fundamentally different fates in seawater through genes encoding either the cleavage or demethylation pathway, and affects the flux of volatile sulfur from ocean surface waters to the atmosphere. Yet which ecological or physiological factors might control the bacterial switch remains a topic of considerable debate. Here we report the first field observations of dynamic changes in expression of DMSP pathway genes by a single marine bacterial species in its natural environment. Detection of taxon-specific gene expression in Roseobacter species HTCC2255 during a month-long deployment of an autonomous ocean sensor in Monterey Bay, CA captured in situ regulation of the first gene in each DMSP pathway (dddP and dmdA) that corresponded with shifts in the taxonomy of the phytoplankton community. Expression of the demethylation pathway was relatively greater during a high-DMSP-producing dinoflagellate bloom, and expression of the cleavage pathway was greater in the presence of a mixed diatom and dinoflagellate community. These field data fit the prevailing hypothesis for bacterial DMSP gene regulation based on bacterial sulfur demand, but also suggest a modification involving oxidative stress response, evidenced as upregulation of catalase via katG, when DMSP is demethylated.

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“…where L s is the average read length of sample r m,s the count of reads annotated as marker m from sample s and R s the total number of base pairs sequenced from sample s. The pstS or phnD gene sequences from GOS that were similar to Psychroflexus torquis were classified as 'other', because the genome sequence of the P. torquis contains small fragments of unknown environmental DNA, as surmised from rDNA in unassembled reads (Howard et al, 2006).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential for phosphite and phosphonate utilization by Prochlorococcus

et al. 2011

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Phosphonates (Pn) are diverse organic phosphorus (P) compounds containing C-P bonds and comprise up to 25% of the high-molecular weight dissolved organic P pool in the open ocean. Pn bioavailability was suggested to influence markedly bacterial primary production in low-P areas. Using metagenomic data from the Global Ocean Sampling expedition, we show that the main potential microbial contributor in Pn utilization in oceanic surface water is the globally important marine primary producer Prochlorococcus. Moreover, a number of Prochlorococcus strains contain two distinct putative Pn uptake operons coding for ABC-type Pn transporters. On the basis of microcalorimetric measurements, we find that each of the two different putative Pn-binding protein (PhnD) homologs transcribed from these operons possesses different Pn-as well as inorganic phosphite-binding specificities. Our results suggest that Prochlorococcus adapt to low-P environments by increasing the number of Pn transporters with different specificities towards phosphite and different Pns.

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Bacterial Taxa That Limit Sulfur Flux from the Ocean

Cited by 298 publications

References 20 publications

Regulation of putative methyl‐sulphide methyltransferases in Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A

Regulation of putative methyl‐sulphide methyltransferases in Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A

Single-taxon field measurements of bacterial gene regulation controlling DMSP fate

Potential for phosphite and phosphonate utilization by Prochlorococcus

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