A connection between climate and marine algae comes from the algal production of a sulphur-containing compound, dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP). Reaction products of DMSP make their way into the atmosphere where their oxidation products influence climate. That is one context in which two new papers should be seen. One describes the biochemical pathway of DMSP synthesis in phytoplankton; the other provides insight into the release of DMSP from phytoplankton by grazing marine herbivores, and the action of one of the resulting products as a defence mechanism. There is, then, also an ecological angle of interest in the new work.
