Researchers believe dimethyl sulfide molecules act as cloud condensation nuclei.
"These types of ocean bacteria are among the most abundant organisms on Earth -- comprising up to half a million microbial cells found in every teaspoon of seawater," Jonathan Todd, a biologist at UEA, said in a news release. "We studied it at a molecular genetic level to discover exactly how it generates a gas called dimethyl sulfide, which is known for stimulating cloud formation."
Researchers found that dimethylsulfoniopropionate, a metabolite produced by marine plankton, is broken down into dimethyl sulfide by the omnipresent bacteria.
"Excitingly, the way Pelagibacterales generates DMS is via a previously unknown enzyme, and we have found that the same enzyme is present in other hugely abundant marine bacterial species," explained Emily Fowler, a UEA researcher whose investigation into DMS-generating enzymes earned her a PhD.
"This likely means we have been vastly underestimating the microbial contribution to the production of this important gas," Fowler said.
The findings -- published this week in the journal Nature Microbiology -- may encourage climate scientists to account for Pelagibacterales bacteria in the latest climate models.
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