From the world's biggest animal, the blue whale, to tiny bacteria, the waters are filled with innumerable species of life. In addition to being plentiful, these bacteria are crucial for preserving the well-being of the entire eco- and climatic system.
Examples of photosynthetically active species include cyanobacteria, which contribute around 50% of the oxygen in the atmosphere. By removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, microorganisms also aid in the battle against global warming. A new study suggests that the microorganisms in the ocean have more to offer.
Ocean Microbiome Has Potential To Create Beneficial Natural Products
Despite this crucial significance, researchers made some limited studies on the variety of microorganisms in the water. A team of researchers led by Professor of Microbiome Research Shinichi Sunagawa collaborates closely with Jörn Piel's group to learn more about diversity in the ocean .
Sunagawa and his colleagues analyzed publicly accessible DNA data from 1,000 water samples taken at various depths from every ocean on earth to find novel natural chemicals produced by bacteria. Some of the sources of the data were ocean excursions and out-at-sea monitoring stations, Phy.org reported.
Looking for new species and learning where researchers may locate and recognize creatures have been simple, thanks to contemporary technology like environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis. But what is scarcely understood is the unique qualities the marine microbes possess, or, to put it another way, the chemical substances they produce that are crucial for interspecies relationships.
In a best-case scenario, such substances would also be advantageous to humans. The research is predicated on the idea that the ocean microbiome has a significant deal of potential for natural products that could be beneficial, for instance their antibiotic properties.
The original researchers of the different expeditions sequenced the extracted eDNA found in the samples. The scientists could decipher the encoded information-the blueprints for proteins by recreating complete genomes on computers. Finally, scientists combined this new data with the 8,500 marine microbe genomic data sets already available to create a single database.
They were able to use these 35,000 genomes to search for novel microbial species, in particular for attractive gene clusters involved in biosynthesis (BGCs). A BGC is a group of genes that establishes the synthesis route for a natural product.
Researchers Find 40,000 Organisms, Bacteria
The researchers found 40,000 potentially relevant BGCs in total in this genomic data and previously unknown species of bacteria from the phylum Eremiobacterota. The particular bacterial community was once found in terrestrial settings and lacked distinctive metabolic diversity.
Eudoremicrobiaceae is the name of a new family that Sunagawa and his colleagues gave these bacteria. They also showed that these bacteria are widespread since one species from this family, Eudoremicrobium malaspinii, makes up to 6% of all the bacteria in some oceanic regions.
"The relatives in the ocean possess what for bacteria is a giant genome. Fully decrypting it was technically challenging because the organisms had not been cultivated before," Sunagawa said per Science Daily.
The researchers closely examined two BGCs from the Eudoremicrobiaceae. One was a gene cluster that, Sunagawa said, has never before been discovered in this arrangement in a bacterial BGC. It included the genetic code for many enzymes. The second case they examined was a bioactive natural substance that blocks a proteolytic enzyme.
More Surprising Experiments Found
The researchers validated the structure and function of both natural compounds using studies in conjunction with Piel's team.
Piel and his associates had to transfer genes into a model bacterium because E. malaspinii could not be grown, so they could serve as models for the natural products. The bacteria created the relevant compounds. The researchers then separated the molecules from the cells, characterized their structure, and verified the biological activity.
For a database of 40,000 possible natural compounds, doing so is an expensive and time-consuming undertaking that is just not practical. However, Sunagawa notes that "our database has a lot to give, and it is available to all academics who desire to utilize it."
Sunagawa intends to look into open-ended issues in the development and ecology of marine microorganisms and continue his partnership with Piel's team to find new natural products. Since microorganisms can only passively spread over long distances, one of them is how they are disseminated in the water. Additionally, he is interested in learning what advantages specific genes give bacteria in terms of ecology or evolution. Sunagawa believes the BGCs might have a significant impact.
Researchers published the study in the journal Nature.
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