“Dimethylsulfoniopropionate metabolism by marine bacteria: what happens when microbial physiologists and ecologists talk,” will be presented 4 p.m. Nov. 14 by William “Barny” Whitman, University of Georgia. A reception begins at 3:30 p.m. The event is at Beadle Center and is open to the public.
Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is a common osmolyte of marine phytoplankton and ubiquitous in marine surface. DMSP is the precursor for the climatically active gas dimethylsulfide (DMS), which is the primary natural source of sulfur to the atmosphere. Most of the DMSP-S released each year is processed by marine bacteria through the "demethylation" pathway. Recent work in our laboratory elucidated the major steps of the demethylation pathway in the marine alphaproteobacterium Ruegeria pomeroyi.
This novel pathway involves demethylation of DMSP to form methylmercaptopropionate (MMPA) and ß-oxidation of MMPA-S-CoA to acetaldehyde, methanethiol, and CO2. The genes encoding this pathway are abundant in the marine metagenome, suggesting that this pathway is widely utilized for DMSP metabolism by marine bacteria. Moreover, the genes for MMPA oxidation are widely distributed in terrestrial bacteria, implying roles in addition to DMSP metabolism.
The complete schedule of seminars may be found at http://biotech.unl.edu/
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/4pb