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Unusual Bacteria Gobbles Up Carbon in the Ocean
http://news.yahoo.com/unusual-bacteria-gobbles-carbon-ocean-163531942.html A single strain of marine bacteria called Alteromonas may consume as much dissolved carbon in the ocean as an entire, diverse bacterial community, according to a new study.
The finding may help researchers better understand how carbon cycling works in marine ecosystems.
"We found that an individual bacterial strain was capable of consuming the same amount of carbon in the ocean as diverse [bacterial] communities," said study author Byron E. Pedler at the University of California, San Diego.
The researchers found the results surprising because of the immense diversity of molecules that constitute dissolved carbon in one form or another in the ocean, Pedler told Live Science.
The finding may help researchers better understand how carbon cycling works in marine ecosystems.
"We found that an individual bacterial strain was capable of consuming the same amount of carbon in the ocean as diverse [bacterial] communities," said study author Byron E. Pedler at the University of California, San Diego.
The researchers found the results surprising because of the immense diversity of molecules that constitute dissolved carbon in one form or another in the ocean, Pedler told Live Science.