Project description:Vibrio species represent one of the most diverse genera of marine bacteria known for their ubiquitous presence in natural aquatic systems. Several members of this genus including Vibrio harveyi are receiving increasing attention lately because they are becoming a source of health problems, especially for some marine organisms widely used in sea food industry. To learn about adaptation changes triggered by V. harveyi during its long-term persistence at elevated temperatures, we studied adaptation of this marine bacterium in sea water microcosms at 30 oC that closely mimicks the upper limits of sea surface temperatures recorded around the globe.
Project description:Thiamine is often undetectable in ocean surface waters where Pelagibacter cells are numerically abundant. Despite this, Pelagibacter cells are missing de novo thiamine synthesis pathways. We show that an eogenous source of the thiamine precursor HMP is required for thiamine synthesis in Pelagibacter and that this precursor is abundant in the Sargasso sea.