Abundance and distribution of dimethylsulfoniopropionate degradation genes and the corresponding bacterial community structure at dimethyl sulfide hot spots in the tropical and subtropical pacific ocean.

ABSTRACT: Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is mainly produced by marine phytoplankton but is released into the microbial food web and degraded by marine bacteria to dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and other products. To reveal the abundance and distribution of bacterial DMSP degradation genes and the corresponding bacterial communities in relation to DMS and DMSP concentrations in seawater, we collected surface seawater samples from DMS hot spot sites during a cruise across the Pacific Ocean. We analyzed the genes encoding DMSP lyase (dddP) and DMSP demethylase (dmdA), which are responsible for the transformation of DMSP to DMS and DMSP assimilation, respectively. The averaged abundance (±standard deviation) of these DMSP degradation genes relative to that of the 16S rRNA genes was 33% ± 12%. The abundances

SUBMITTER: Cui Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4524131 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature