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Intriguing Functionality of the Production and Conversion of DMSP in Phaeocystis SP

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Biological and Environmental Chemistry of DMSP and Related Sulfonium Compounds

Summary

In many areas of the ocean the distribution and conversion of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) may to a high degree be influenced by the activity of the Prymnesiophyte alga Phaeocystis sp.: it not only produces DMSP in large amounts, but is also able to convert it enzymatically into dimethylsulfide (DMS) and acrylate. Characteristic properties of DMSP-lyase in Phaeocystis sp. indicate that the enzyme is different from lyase enzymes in other organisms studied. During a spring bloom in Dutch coastal waters, DMSP-lyase activity was strongly correlated with Phaeocystis sp. cell numbers and potentially capable of producing DMS in excess of abiotic loss factors. In Phaeocystis sp. cells, DMSP makes an important contribution to the intracellular osmotic potential, with concentrations of approximately 150 mM. Upon salinity shocks, however, short term regulation of its internal levels was not observed. Although a slow adaptation of the DMSP production in Phaeocystis sp. cells may affect intracellular concentrations on a long term, it is concluded that DMSP-lyase is not involved in the short term osmotic adaptation of the cell. DMSP is a structural component of the cell, being produced continuously in the light as well as in the dark. DMSP-lyase activity facilitates the release of DMSP from the cell, with some intriguing beneficial effects.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Biology, University of Groningen, PO Box 14, 9750 AA, Haren, The Netherlands

    Jacqueline Stefels & Winfried W. C. Gieskes

  2. Department of Microbiology, University of Groningen, PO Box 14, 9750 AA, Haren, The Netherlands

    Lubbert Dijkhuizen

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  1. Jacqueline Stefels
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  2. Winfried W. C. Gieskes
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  3. Lubbert Dijkhuizen
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, USA

    Ronald P. Kiene

  2. University of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut, USA

    Pieter T. Visscher

  3. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, West Boothbay Harbor, Maine, USA

    Maureen D. Keller

  4. University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Gunter O. Kirst

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© 1996 Plenum Press, New York

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Stefels, J., Gieskes, W.W.C., Dijkhuizen, L. (1996). Intriguing Functionality of the Production and Conversion of DMSP in Phaeocystis SP. In: Kiene, R.P., Visscher, P.T., Keller, M.D., Kirst, G.O. (eds) Biological and Environmental Chemistry of DMSP and Related Sulfonium Compounds. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0377-0_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0377-0_26

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-45306-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0377-0

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