Open AccessDemethylation and cleavage of dimethylsulfoniopropionate in marine intertidal sediments
Author(s) -
Visscher Pieter T.,
Kiene Ronald P.,
Taylor Barrie F.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6941.1994.tb00104.x
Subject(s) - dimethylsulfoniopropionate , dimethyl sulfide , intertidal zone , diatom , demethylation , biology , carbonate , population , sediment , environmental chemistry , algae , botany , oceanography , ecology , chemistry , nutrient , phytoplankton , geology , biochemistry , paleontology , sulfur , gene expression , demography , organic chemistry , sociology , gene , dna methylation
Demethylation and cleavage of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) was measured in three different types of intertidal marine sediments: a cyanobacterial mat, a diatom‐covered tidal flat and a carbonate sediment. Consumption rates of added DMSP were highest in cyanobacterial mat slurries (59 μmol DMSP 1 −1 ) and lower in slurries from a diatom mat and a carbonate tidal sediment (24 and 9 μmol DMSP 1 −1 h −1 , respectively). Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and 3‐mercaptopropionate (MPA) were produced simultaneously during DMSP consumption, indicating that cleavage and demethylation occurred at the same time. Viable counts of DMSP‐utilizing bacteria revealed a population of 2 × 10 7 cells cm −3 sediment (90% of these cleaved DMSP to DMS, 10% demethylated DMSP to MPA) in the cyanobacterial mat, 7 × 10 5 cells cm −3 in the diatom mat (23% cleavers, 77% demethylators), and 9 × 10 4 cells cm −3 (20% cleavers and 80% demethylators) in the carbonate sediment. In slurries of the diatom mat, the rate of MPA production from added 3‐methiolpropionate (MMPA) was 50% of the rate of MPA formation from DMSP. The presence of a large population of demethylating bacteria and the production of MPA from DMSP suggest that the demethylation pathway, in addition to cleavage, contributes significantly to DMSP consumption in coastal sediments.