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Sammanfattning

Vitamin B12 (B12) is an essential cofactor for vital metabolic processes in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. De novo B(12 )biosynthesis is exclusively carried out by a modicum of prokaryotes, although being required by most organisms. Recently, it has been demonstrated that not all B-12-prototrophic bacteria voluntarily share this vital cofactor and, therefore, are termed B-12-retainers. Consequently, low biosynthesis potential and limited voluntary release lead to a large discrepancy between availability and demand for B-12 in the ocean, indicating that release of B12 may be an important control. Hence, in this study, we examined a specific release process, cell lysis after phage infection. We isolated bacteriophages specific for the B-12-prototrophic, yet B-12-retainer bacterium Sulfitobacter sp. M39. The addition of the bacteriophages to a Sulfitobacter sp. M39 mono-culture led to a significant increase in virus-like particles, reduced bacterial growth, and quantifiable extracellular dissolved B-12. When introducing bacteriophages to a co-culture comprising the host bacterium and the B-12-auxotrophic diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana, we observed rapid response in the form of microalgal growth. Our results indicate that B(12 )is released as a result of bacteriophage-mediated cell lysis of Sulfitobacter sp. M39, enabling the growth of T. pseudonana in co-culture and possibly other microbes in nature. Therefore, we propose that bacteriophage-mediated cell lysis is a key mechanism for the release of essential metabolites, including vitamins, and given the estimated bacteriophage infection rates in the ocean, it plays a crucial role in the B-vitamin cycle in the marine environment.

Nyckelord

vitamin B-12; cobalamin; bacteriophages; bacteriophage-mediated cell lysis; diatom; metabolite cross-feeding; marine microbial community; microbial interaction

Publicerad i

ISME Communications
2025, volym: 5, nummer: 1, artikelnummer: ycaf136
Utgivare: OXFORD UNIV PRESS

SLU författare

UKÄ forskningsämne

Mikrobiologi
Ekologi

Publikationens identifierare

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ismeco/ycaf136

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/143930