Ronald P. Kiene

An antioxidant function for DMSP and DMS in marine algae

The algal osmolyte dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) and its enzymatic cleavage product dimethylsulphide (DMS) contribute significantly to the global sulphur cycle, yet their physiological functions are uncertain. Here we report results that, together with those in the literature, show that DMSP and its breakdown products (DMS, acrylate, dimethylsulphoxide, and methane sulphinic acid) readily scavenge hydroxyl radicals and other reactive oxygen species, and thus may serve as an antioxidant system, regulated in part by enzymatic cleavage of DMSP. In support of this hypothesis, we found that oxidative stressors, solar ultraviolet radiation, CO2 limitation, Fe limitation, high Cu2+ (ref. 9) and H2O2 substantially increased cellular DMSP and/or its lysis to DMS in marine algal cultures. Our results indicate direct links between such stressors and the dynamics of DMSP and DMS in marine phytoplankton, which probably influence the production of DMS and its release to the atmosphere. As oxidation of DMS to sulphuric acid in the atmosphere provides a major source of sulphate aerosols and cloud condensation nuclei, oxidative stressors—including solar radiation and Fe limitation—may be involved in complex ocean–atmosphere feedback loops that influence global climate and hydrological cycles.

A global database of sea surface dimethylsulfide (DMS) measurements and a procedure to predict sea surface DMS as a function of latitude, longitude, and month

A database of 15,617 point measurements of dimethylsulfide (DMS) in surface waters along with lesser amounts of data for aqueous and particulate dimethylsulfoniopropionate concentration, chlorophyll concentration, sea surface salinity and temperature, and wind speed has been assembled. The database was processed to create a series of climatological annual and monthly 1°×1° latitude-longitude squares of data. The results were compared to published fields of geophysical and biological parameters. No significant correlation was found between DMS and these parameters, and no simple algorithm could be found to create monthly fields of sea surface DMS concentration based on these parameters. Instead, an annual map of sea surface DMS was produced using an algorithm similar to that employed by Conkright et al. [1994]. In this approach, a first-guess field of DMS sea surface concentration measurements is created and then a correction to this field is generated based on actual measurements. Monthly sea surface grids of DMS were obtained using a similar scheme, but the sparsity of DMS measurements made the method difficult to implement. A scheme was used which projected actual data into months of the year where no data were otherwise present.

Genome sequence of Silicibacter pomeroyi reveals adaptations to the marine environment

Since the recognition of prokaryotes as essential components of the oceanic food web, bacterioplankton have been acknowledged as catalysts of most major biogeochemical processes in the sea. Studying heterotrophic bacterioplankton has been challenging, however, as most major clades have never been cultured or have only been grown to low densities in sea water. Here we describe the genome sequence of Silicibacter pomeroyi, a member of the marine Roseobacter clade (Fig. 1), the relatives of which comprise ∼10–20% of coastal and oceanic mixed-layer bacterioplankton. This first genome sequence from any major heterotrophic clade consists of a chromosome (4,109,442 base pairs) and megaplasmid (491,611 base pairs). Genome analysis indicates that this organism relies upon a lithoheterotrophic strategy that uses inorganic compounds (carbon monoxide and sulphide) to supplement heterotrophy. Silicibacter pomeroyi also has genes advantageous for associations with plankton and suspended particles, including genes for uptake of algal-derived compounds, use of metabolites from reducing microzones, rapid growth and cell-density-dependent regulation. This bacterium has a physiology distinct from that of marine oligotrophs, adding a new strategy to the recognized repertoire for coping with a nutrient-poor ocean.

The Marine Microbial Eukaryote Transcriptome Sequencing Project (MMETSP): Illuminating the Functional Diversity of Eukaryotic Life in the Oceans through Transcriptome Sequencing.

Current sampling of genomic sequence data from eukaryotes is relatively poor, biased, and inadequate to address important questions about their biology, evolution, and ecology; this Community Page describes a resource of 700 transcriptomes from marine microbial eukaryotes to help understand their role in the worlds oceans.

Impact of dimethylsulfide photochemistry on methyl sulfur cycling in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

Shipboard experiments were conducted in the equatorial Pacific Ocean to ascertain the relative importance of atmospheric ventilation, biological consumption, and photolysis in the removal of dimethylsulfide (DMS) from seawater. Comparisons were made at a series of sampling locations in a transect from 12°N 140°W to 12°S 135°W, as part of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry projects Marine Aerosol and Gas Exchange cruise in February–March 1992. Turnover rate constants for DMS were used to compare the different removal pathways over three depth intervals (0–1 m, 0–20 m, and 0–60 m). In the surface mixed layer (0–60 m), the DMS turnover rate constants ranged from 0.02 to 0.19 day−1 for atmospheric ventilation, 0.04 to 0.66 day−1 for biological consumption, and 0.05 to 0.15 day−1 for photolysis. When all three processes are considered, the corresponding turnover time for DMS ranges from 1 to 4 days, with photolysis accounting for 7%–40% of the total turnover of DMS. Laboratory irradiations were conducted with stored seawater samples to study the kinetics and wavelength dependence of DMS photolysis. Salient results were (1) the photolysis of DMS followed pseudo first-order kinetics, (2) dimethylsulfoxide was a minor (14%) product of DMS photolysis, and (3) the photolysis of DMS in seawater under natural light conditions occurred primarily at wavelengths between 380 and 460 nm. On the basis of these results, we predict that the photolysis of DMS will occur at appreciable depths in the photic zone in oligotrophic marine environments (∼60 m). An important finding of this study is that atmospheric loss, biological consumption, and photolysis are all important removal pathways for DMS in the photic zone of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The relative importance of each pathway is a function of the depth interval considered, sampling location, and meteorological conditions.

Biological and environmental chemistry of DMSP and related sulfonium compounds

Proceedings of the June 1995 symposium, covering topics related to dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and providing background and the latest research on the subject. DMSP and related sulfonium compounds are of interest to biological chemists because they are used by organisms to combat osmotic stres

Contribution of SAR11 Bacteria to Dissolved Dimethylsulfoniopropionate and Amino Acid Uptake in the North Atlantic Ocean

ABSTRACT SAR11 bacteria are abundant in marine environments, often accounting for 35% of total prokaryotes in the surface ocean, but little is known about their involvement in marine biogeochemical cycles. Previous studies reported that SAR11 bacteria are very small and potentially have few ribosomes, indicating that SAR11 bacteria could have low metabolic activities and could play a smaller role in the flux of dissolved organic matter than suggested by their abundance. To determine the ecological activity of SAR11 bacteria, we used a combination of microautoradiography and fluorescence in situ hybridization (Micro-FISH) to measure assimilation of 3H-amino acids and [35S]dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) by SAR11 bacteria in the coastal North Atlantic Ocean and the Sargasso Sea. We found that SAR11 bacteria were often abundant in surface waters, accounting for 25% of all prokaryotes on average. SAR11 bacteria were typically as large as, if not larger than, other prokaryotes. Additionally, more than half of SAR11 bacteria assimilated dissolved amino acids and DMSP, whereas about 40% of other prokaryotes assimilated these compounds. Due to their high abundance and activity, SAR11 bacteria were responsible for about 50% of amino acid assimilation and 30% of DMSP assimilation in surface waters. The contribution of SAR11 bacteria to amino acid assimilation was greater than would be expected based on their overall abundance, implying that SAR11 bacteria outcompete other prokaryotes for these labile compounds. These data suggest that SAR11 bacteria are highly active and play a significant role in C, N, and S cycling in the ocean.

The cycling of sulfur in surface seawater of the northeast Pacific

Oceanic dimethylsulfide (DMS) emissions to the atmosphere are potentially important to the Earths radiative balance. Since these emissions are driven by the surface seawater concentration of DMS, it is important to understand the processes controlling the cycling of sulfur in surface seawater. During the third Pacific Sulfur/Stratus Investigation (PSI-3, April 1991) we measured the major sulfur reservoirs (total organic sulfur, total low molecular weight organic sulfur, ester sulfate, protein sulfur, dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), DMS, dimethylsulfoxide) and quantified many of the processes that cycle sulfur through the upper water column (sulfate assimilation, DMSP consumption, DMS production and consumption, air-sea exchange of DMS, loss of organic sulfur by particulate sinking). Under conditions of low plankton biomass ( 8 μM nitrate), 250 km off the Washington State coast, DMSP and DMS were 22% and 0.9%, respectively, of the total particulate organic sulfur pool. DMS production from the enzymatic cleavage of DMSP accounted for 29% of the total sulfate assimilation. However, only 0.3% of sulfate-S assimilated was released to the atmosphere. From these data it is evident that air-sea exchange is currently only a minor sink in the seawater sulfur cycle and thus there is the potential for much higher DMS emissions under different climatic conditions.

The fate of dissolved dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) in seawater: tracer studies using 35S-DMSP

Abstract The algal osmolyte dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is distributed globally in the marine euphotic zone, where it represents a major form of reduced sulfur. Previous investigations of DMSP cycling have focused mainly on its degradation to the volatile sulfur species dimethylsulfide (DMS) and little is known about the other possible fates of the sulfur. In this study 35 S-DMSP was used to trace the biogeochemical fate of sulfur in the natural pool of dissolved DMSP in seawater. Dissolved 35 S-DMSP added to seawater was degraded within hours, with the 35 S partitioning into three major, relatively stable, operational pools: particulates, dissolved non-volatile degradation products (DNVS), and volatiles. The mean values for partitioning of DMSP obtained from 20 different seawater incubations were (in terms of sulfur): particulates (33%; range 6–85%;); DNVS (46%; range 21–74%); and volatiles (9%; range 2–21%). Oceanic water samples had lower incorporation of DMSP-S into particulates and higher incorporation into DNVS as compared with coastal-shelf samples. Transient accumulation of untransformed 35 S-DMSP in bacteria accounted for some of the particulate 35 S, but most of the cell-associated DMSP was rapidly transformed and the sulfur incorporated into relatively stable macromolecules. 35 S-labeled DNVS accumulated steadily during DMSP metabolism and approximately half of this pool was confirmed to be sulfate, implying that oxidation of DMSP-sulfur takes place on time scales of minutes to hours. Volatile products were produced rapidly from 35 S-DMSP, but most were consumed within 1–3 h. Experiments showed that methanethiol (MeSH) was the major volatile compound produced from tracer DMSP, with longer-lived DMS formed in lower amounts. Tracer additions of 35 S-MeSH to seawater resulted in incorporation of sulfur into cellular macromolecules and DNVS, suggesting MeSH was an intermediate in the conversion of DMSP into these pools. Experiments with 35 S-DMS revealed that turnover of DMS was much slower than for DMSP or MeSH, and the retention of the DMS-sulfur in particles was only a minor fraction of the total amount metabolized. The majority of the 35 S-DMS was transformed into DNVS including sulfate. Temperature and DMSP concentration significantly affected the partitioning of sulfur during DMSP degradation, with lower temperatures and higher substrate concentrations causing a shift from particulate into volatile and non-volatile dissolved products. Our work demonstrates that natural turnover of dissolved DMSP results in minor net production of sulfur gases, and substantial production of previously unrecognized products (particulate and dissolved non-volatile sulfur). The main fates of DMSP are tied to assimilation and oxidation of the reduced sulfur by microorganisms, both of which may act as important controls on the production of climatically active DMS.

Rapid turnover of dissolved DMS and DMSP by defined bacterioplankton communities in the stratified euphotic zone of the North Sea

Bacterioplankton-driven turnover of the algal osmolyte, dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP), and its degradation product, dimethylsulphide (DMS) the major natural source of atmospheric sulphur, were studied during a Lagrangian SF6-tracer experiment in the North Sea (60°N, 3°E). The water mass sampled within the euphotic zone was characterised by a surface mixed layer (from 0 m to 13–30 m) and a subsurface layer (from 13–30 m to 45–58 m) separated by a 2°C thermocline spanning 2 m. The fluxes of dissolved DMSP (DMSPd) and DMS were determined using radioactive tracer techniques. Rates of the simultaneous incorporation of 14C-leucine and 3H-thymidine were measured to estimate bacterioplankton production. Flow cytometry was employed to discriminate subpopulations and to determine the numbers and biomass of bacterioplankton by staining for nucleic acids and proteins. Bacterioplankton subpopulations were separated by flow cytometric sorting and their composition determined using 16S ribosomal gene cloning/sequencing and fluorescence in situ hybridisation with designed group-specific oligonucleotide probes. A subpopulation, dominated by bacteria related to Roseobacter-(α-proteobacteria), constituted 26–33% of total bacterioplankton numbers and 45–48% of biomass in both surface and subsurface layers. The other abundant prokaryotes were a group within the SAR86 cluster of γ-proteobacteria and bacteria from the Cytophaga–Flavobacterium—cluster. Bacterial consumption of DMSPd was greater in the subsurface layer (41 nM d−1) than in the surface layer (20 nM d−1). Bacterioplankton tightly controlled the DMSPd pool, particularly in the subsurface layer, with a turnover time of 2 h, whereas the turnover time of DMSPd in the surface layer was 10 h. Consumed DMSP satisfied the majority of sulphur demands of bacterioplankton, even though bacterioplankton assimilated only about 2.5% and 6.0% of consumed DMSPd sulphur in the surface and subsurface layers, respectively. Bacterioplankton turnover of DMS was also faster in the subsurface layer (12 h) compared to the surface layer (24 h). However, absolute DMS consumption rates were higher in the surface layer, due to higher DMS concentrations in this layer. The majority of DMS was metabolised into dissolved non-volatile products, and bacteria could satisfy only 1–3% of their sulphur demands from DMS. Thus, structurally similar bacterioplankton communities exerted strong control over DMSPd and DMS concentrations both in the subsurface layer and surface mixed layer.