Direct Heme Uptake by Phytoplankton-Associated Roseobacter Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Iron is an essential micronutrient and can limit the growth of both marine phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacterioplankton. In this study, we investigated the molecular basis of heme transport, an organic iron acquisition pathway, in phytoplankton-associated Roseobacter bacteria and explored the potential role of bacterial heme uptake in the marine environment. We searched 153 Roseobacter genomes and found that nearly half contained putative complete heme transport systems with nearly the same synteny. We also examined a publicly available coculture transcriptome and found that Roseobacter strain Sulfitobacter sp. strain SA11 strongly downregulated a putative heme transport gene cluster during mutualistic growth with a marine diatom, suggesting that the regulat

SUBMITTER: Hogle SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5225302 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature