Journal Article

Significance of Vibrio species in the marine organic carbon cycle—A review

Austin, Brian, Lin, Heyu, Zhang, Xiaohua, Wang, Xiaolei

2018

Overview

The genus Vibrio , belonging to Gammaproteobacteria of the phylum Proteobacteria , is a genetically and ecologically diverse group of heterotrophic bacteria, that are ubiquitous in marine environments, especially in coastal areas. In particular, vibrios dominate, i.e. up to 10% of the readily culturable marine bacteria in these habitats. The distribution of Vibrio spp. is shaped by various environmental parameters, notably temperature, salinity and dissolved organic carbon. Vibrio spp. may utilize a wide range of organic carbon compounds, including chitin (this may be metabolized by most Vibrio spp.), alginic acid and agar. Many Vibrio spp. have very short replication times (as short as ~10 min), which could facilitate them developing into high biomass content albeit for relatively short durations. Although Vibrio spp. usually comprise a minor portion (typically ~1% of the total bacterioplankton in coastal waters) of the total microbial population, they have been shown to proliferate explosively in response to various nutrient pulses, e.g., organic nutrients from algae blooms and iron (Fe + ) from Saharan dust. Thus, Vibrio spp. may exert large impacts on marine organic carbon cycling especially in marginal seas. Genomics and related areas of investigation will reveal more about the molecular components and mechanisms involved in Vibrio -mediated biotransformation and remineralization processes.

• Publisher: Science China Press,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Algae / Algal blooms / Alginic acid / Aquatic habitats / Atmospheric particulates / Bacteria / Bacterioplankton / Biotransformation / Carbon / Carbon compounds / Carbon cycle / Chitin / Coastal waters / Coastal zone / Dissolved organic carbon / Dust storms / Earth and Environmental Science / Earth Sciences / Environmental factors / Environmental parameters / Eutrophication / Heterotrophic bacteria / Iron / Marginal seas / Marine environment / Microorganisms / Mineral nutrients / Nanoplankton / Nutrients / Organic carbon / Plankton blooms / Remineralization / Review / Saharan dust / Vibrio / Waterborne diseases