Global niche partitioning of purine and pyrimidine cross-feeding among ocean microbes.

ABSTRACT: Cross-feeding involves microbes consuming exudates of other surrounding microbes, mediating elemental cycling. Characterizing the diversity of cross-feeding pathways in ocean microbes illuminates evolutionary forces driving self-organization of ocean ecosystems. Here, we uncover a purine and pyrimidine cross-feeding network in globally abundant groups. The cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus exudes both compound classes, which metabolic reconstructions suggest follows synchronous daily genome replication. Co-occurring heterotrophs differentiate into purine- and pyrimidine-using generalists or specialists that use compounds for different purposes. The most abundant heterotroph, SAR11, is a specialist that uses purines as sources of energy, carbon, and/or nitrogen, with subgroups different

SUBMITTER: Braakman R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11698098 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature