Oceanic SAR11 Alphaproteobacteria and Prochlorococcus cyanobacteria are abundant in phosphate-poor regions, despite it being vital for growth. Here, Zubkov et al.show these bacterioplankton exploit an extracellular buffer of labile phosphate to reduce their dependency on bioavailable ambient phosphate.
- Mikhail V. Zubkov
- Adrian P. Martin
- David J. Scanlan
