Single-cell bacterial transcription measurements reveal the importance of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) hotspots in ocean sulfur cycling.

ABSTRACT: Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is a pivotal compound in marine biogeochemical cycles and a key chemical currency in microbial interactions. Marine bacteria transform DMSP via two competing pathways with considerably different biogeochemical implications: demethylation channels sulfur into the microbial food web, whereas cleavage releases sulfur into the atmosphere. Here, we present single-cell measurements of the expression of these two pathways using engineered fluorescent reporter strains of Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3, and find that external DMSP concentration dictates the relative expression of the two pathways. DMSP induces an upregulation of both pathways, but only at high concentrations (>1 μM for demethylation; >35 nM for cleavage), characteristic of microscale hotspots such as the

SUBMITTER: Gao C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7181598 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature