Prochlorococcus is the key phytoplanktonic organism of tropical gyres, large ocean regions that are depleted of the essential macronutrients needed for photosynthesis and cell growth. This cyanobacterium has adapted itself to oligotrophy by minimizing the resources necessary for life through a drastic reduction of cell and genome sizes.
Why is Prochlorococcus called the gift that keeps on giving?
What is the name of the bacteria that lives at the bottom of the ocean?
What is the invisible pasture of the sea?
How much of the photosynthesis is done by Prochlorococcus?
What temperature do prochlorococcus live in?
What is a bleb in biology?
How many genes are in each strain of Prochlorococcus?
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Why is Prochlorococcus called the gift that keeps on giving?
As a researcher, Chisholm calls Prochlorococcus “the gift that keeps on giving,” because each discovery leads to more questions. About five years ago, one of Chisholm’s graduate students was taking pictures of the phytoplankton using electron micrographs. They noticed something odd in the photograph. The bacteria were covered with tiny bubbles, about a tenth the diameter of the Prochlorococcus, which she started calling “blebs.” The blebs were all over the cells and floating around the water with the phytoplankton.
What is the name of the bacteria that lives at the bottom of the ocean?
Prochlorococcus is a phytoplankton, a tiny plant-like bacteria that is less than a micron wide and exists at the very bottom of the ocean’s food chain. Lay 100 of them end to end and they would be as wide as a human hair.
What is the invisible pasture of the sea?
Prochlorococcus phytoplankton, this single-celled ocean-dwelling organism, forms the “invisible pasture of the sea” that may be responsible for life as we know it on Earth. Photo by Anne Thompson, Chisholm Lab, MIT
How much of the photosynthesis is done by Prochlorococcus?
Chisholm estimates that Prochlorococcus is responsible for about 5 to 10% of the photosynthesis on Earth today. She traces its origins back 3.5 billion years to cells with mutations that resulted in the release of oxygen into the atmosphere.
What temperature do prochlorococcus live in?
In a brightly lit room, vials of Prochlorococcus from all over the world — the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the Northern Atlantic — are kept at 73.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike other microorganisms, they don’t grow well on a petri dish, so researchers try to replicate their natural environment.
What is a bleb in biology?
Finally, Steve Biller, a postdoctoral student, came up with an answer. The blebs, he concluded, were vesi cles, little membrane-bound bubbles of DNA, RNA and lipids. He researched them in the open ocean, and found that there were more blebs than there were bacteria. By analyzing the bleb’s DNA, he learned that all different kinds of bacteria in the ocean were sending these vesicles into the water.
How many genes are in each strain of Prochlorococcus?
Recently, scientists have found that each strain of Prochlorococcus has 2,000 genes, Chisholm said, but the genes in each strain are significantly different. Extrapolate that, she said, and there are three times as many genes in the total Prochlorococcus population as there are in an individual human.
Why is Prochlorococcus called the gift that keeps on giving?
As a researcher, Chisholm calls Prochlorococcus “the gift that keeps on giving,” because each discovery leads to more questions. About five years ago, one of Chisholm’s graduate students was taking pictures of the phytoplankton using electron micrographs. They noticed something odd in the photograph. The bacteria were covered with tiny bubbles, about a tenth the diameter of the Prochlorococcus, which she started calling “blebs.” The blebs were all over the cells and floating around the water with the phytoplankton.
What is the name of the bacteria that lives at the bottom of the ocean?
Prochlorococcus is a phytoplankton, a tiny plant-like bacteria that is less than a micron wide and exists at the very bottom of the ocean’s food chain. Lay 100 of them end to end and they would be as wide as a human hair.
What is the invisible pasture of the sea?
Prochlorococcus phytoplankton, this single-celled ocean-dwelling organism, forms the “invisible pasture of the sea” that may be responsible for life as we know it on Earth. Photo by Anne Thompson, Chisholm Lab, MIT
How much of the photosynthesis is done by Prochlorococcus?
Chisholm estimates that Prochlorococcus is responsible for about 5 to 10% of the photosynthesis on Earth today. She traces its origins back 3.5 billion years to cells with mutations that resulted in the release of oxygen into the atmosphere.
What temperature do prochlorococcus live in?
In a brightly lit room, vials of Prochlorococcus from all over the world — the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the Northern Atlantic — are kept at 73.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike other microorganisms, they don’t grow well on a petri dish, so researchers try to replicate their natural environment.
What is a bleb in biology?
Finally, Steve Biller, a postdoctoral student, came up with an answer. The blebs, he concluded, were vesi cles, little membrane-bound bubbles of DNA, RNA and lipids. He researched them in the open ocean, and found that there were more blebs than there were bacteria. By analyzing the bleb’s DNA, he learned that all different kinds of bacteria in the ocean were sending these vesicles into the water.
How many genes are in each strain of Prochlorococcus?
Recently, scientists have found that each strain of Prochlorococcus has 2,000 genes, Chisholm said, but the genes in each strain are significantly different. Extrapolate that, she said, and there are three times as many genes in the total Prochlorococcus population as there are in an individual human.
