B-Vitamin Dynamics in Marine Microbial Communities
Summary
Marine microbes depend on B-vitamins as enzyme cofactors in central metabolic pathways, yet only a minority can synthesise these compounds de novo. This imbalance fosters intricate ecological networks in which prototrophic bacteria supply essential cofactors—principally thiamin (B1) and cobalamin (B12)—to auxotrophic partners. Concentrations of dissolved B-vitamins and their congeners oscillate spatially and seasonally, reflecting shifts in production, degradation and uptake. Photodegradation and dark oxidation alter the chemical speciation of B12, generating salvageable lower-ligand fragments that sustain microbial growth. Likewise, natural pools of thiamin vitamers and degradation products form a dynamic reservoir tapped by diverse plankton. Metagenomic surveys and time-series studies reveal seasonal alternation of dominant B12 producers—archaea in winter, Alphaproteobacteria and cyanobacteria in spring and summer—while coastal systems exhibit stable thiamin levels but marked vitamer flux. This metabolic interdependence underpins global biogeochemical cycles, influences rates of primary production, and shapes community composition under changing environmental conditions.
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B-Vitamin Dynamics in Marine Microbial Communities publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in b-vitamin dynamics in marine microbial communities across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Auxotroph: An organism unable to synthesise a compound essential for growth and requiring it from the environment.
Prototroph: An organism capable of synthesising all compounds needed for growth, including vitamins.
Vitamer: A chemical variant of a vitamin that retains biological activity.
Cobalamin: Collective term for forms of vitamin B12, a cobalt-containing cofactor in one-carbon metabolism.
Thiamin: Vitamin B1, a cofactor in carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, including the citric acid cycle.
Photodegradation: Breakdown of organic molecules under light exposure, altering vitamin speciation.
Metagenomics: Analysis of genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples to assess community functions.
References
- New chemical and microbial perspectives on vitamin B1 and vitamer dynamics of a coastal system. ISME Communications (2024).
- Use and detection of a vitamin B1 degradation product yields new views of the marine B1 cycle and plankton metabolite exchange. mBio (2023).
- Shedding light on cobalamin photodegradation in the ocean. Limnology and Oceanography Letters (2023).
- Functional redundancy of seasonal vitamin B12 biosynthesis pathways in coastal marine microbial communities. Environmental Microbiology (2023).
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