Dimethylsulfoniopropionate metabolism shapes microbial ecology and physiological adaptation during the austral winter in Southern Ocean sea ice and seawater
Z Mayibongwe Buthelezi, Rian E Pierneef, Oliver K I Bezuidt, M Nello J Gregori, Stephan Pesant, Daniele Iudicone, Libby Hanwell, Jonathan D Todd, Thulani P Makhalanyane · 2026
Read Dimethylsulfoniopropionate metabolism shapes microbial ecology and physiological adaptation during the austral winter in Southern Ocean sea ice and seawater by Z Mayibongwe Buthelezi, Rian E Pierneef, Oliver K I Bezuidt, M Nello J Gregori, Stephan Pesant, Daniele Iudicone, Libby Hanwell, Jonathan D Todd, Thulani P Makhalanyane (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13280387.txt.
Description
Z. Mayibongwe Buthelezi and colleagues report a 2026 study of a sulfur compound in Southern Ocean sea ice in winter. Dimethylsulfoniopropionate, or DMSP, is a rich marine sulfur compound that guards cells from stress and feeds climate cooling gases. Polar sea ice and seawater interfaces are key yet understudied DMSP hotspots. Samples came from the austral winter, the southern cold season. Gene based reads mapped who makes and who breaks the compound.
DMSP levels ran up to thirty eight fold higher in sea ice than in seawater. Sea ice thus acts as a concentrated reservoir of the compound. Algae with two named production genes were predicted to dominate making, yet diverse and new bacterial producers also showed. Breakdown genes were more abundant than production genes in the reads. Active cycling in ice may shape sulfur flow to air and water when ice melts.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Z Mayibongwe Buthelezi, Rian E Pierneef, Oliver K I Bezuidt, M Nello J Gregori, Stephan Pesant, Daniele Iudicone, Libby Hanwell, Jonathan D Todd, Thulani P Makhalanyane |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 52869 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |