Marine bacteria collaborate to produce important vi

A German-American research team led by microbiologist Dr. Gerrit Wienhausen from the University of Oldenburg, Germany, has taken an important step towards understanding the highly complex interactions between marine microorganisms. Researchers carried out various experiments to analyze the interaction between two species of marine bacteria in the North Sea in the synthesis of vitamin B.₁₂and are currently publishing their research results in a scientific journal. Nature.

vitamin B₁₂ It is an essential but rare commodity at sea (and elsewhere). This is essential not only for the metabolism of the two bacteria investigated in this study, but also for many other marine organisms. “Half of all algae cannot survive without this vitamin,” Wienhausen explains. However, like humans, algae cannot produce B.₁₂ themselves. So researchers at Oldenburg University and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego (USA) were eager to learn more about B.₁₂ Synthesis by marine bacteria.

Certain bacterial strains are known as vitamin B,₁₂ Dear Growers, This research project focused on two strains. Rose Ovarius and Colwellia a genus that each produces only one of the two components of vitamin B₁₂In other words, substances can only be synthesized by cooperating with each other. “It’s interesting how complex the interactions between bacteria are,” Wienhausen emphasizes regarding this new study. The study was carried out as part of the Roseobacter Collaborative Research Center, headed by Oldenburg microbiologist Dr. Meinhard Simon. Publication.

Complex interactions between two bacterial strains

Using complex laboratory experiments and cutting-edge analytical tools, the researchers were able to investigate the interaction between the two bacterial strains in detail. According to their findings, Colwellia Strain M166 synthesizes smaller components of vitamin B₁₂ It is then released into the surrounding water. On their part, the bacteria Rose Ovarius Strain M141 not only produces larger building blocks that are the main components, but can also synthesize B.₁₂ Both bacterial strains require a combination of two components.

but Rose Ovarius The strain does not release vitamins by itself, but only once Colwellia It activates the virus encoded in the bacterial genome of the co-producer, and the virus multiplies. The resulting viral infection results in some casualties. Rose Ovarius Bacteria burst and vitamin B₁₂ It will be released at the same time as the virus, so it will be available to the following users: Colwellia (and probably other marine life too). Researchers at the Oldenburg Institute of Marine Environmental Chemistry and Biology (ICBM) and Scripps say, “This finely tuned cross-supply of metabolic components and products is important not only for marine microbial communities but also for other ecosystems. It may also be related.”Marine Research Institute Report Nature.

“We were able to demonstrate for the first time that the two bacteria only synthesize B.₁₂ “This complex form of interaction between bacteria was previously unknown,” Wienhausen said.

More than 60 researchers from Oldenburg, Braunschweig, Göttingen and Bonn have been working on the Roseobacter Group for the past 13 years within the Cross-Regional Collaborative Research Center (CRC) Roseobacter, which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). investigated the bacteria. These bacteria are present in all marine habitats, from the tropics to the polar oceans, and from the ocean surface to the deep sea. Among other achievements, the researchers discovered many new species and described their distribution and functional biogeography in the world’s oceans for the first time. More than 280 scientific papers based on research conducted within the context of the CRC have been published to date.