http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7545&tid=282&cid=62366&ct=162 News Release : Newly Discovered Fat Molecule: An Undersea Killer with an Upside
November 5, 2009
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A chemical culprit responsible for the rapid, mysterious death of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean has been found by collaborating scientists at Rutgers University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). This same chemical may hold unexpected promise in cancer research.
The team discovered a previously unknown lipid, or fatty compound, in a virus that has been attacking and killing Emiliania huxleyi, a phytoplankton that plays a major role in the global carbon cycle.
“Emiliania huxleyi is the rock star of phytoplankton,” explains Kay Bidle, Rutgers assistant professor of marine science in the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. “It blooms all over the oceans, and we can easily see it by satellite. We know that these blooms are frequently infected with viruses, and this virus is specific to this phytoplankton.”
“The lipids are the key ingredient in the virus that causes the phytoplankton to die,” says WHOI scientist Benjamin Van Mooy. “We have a completely different lipid molecule that, as far as we know, is unknown to science.”
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Their paper is published in the Nov. 6 issue of Science.,
E. huxleyi performs photosynthesis—“just like plants,” says Van Mooy. “They suck up carbon dioxide.” In doing so, they reduce the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere. They form a calcium carbonate shell, also helping to regulate the carbon cycle.
If viruses are killing off phytoplankton, this can increase greenhouse emissions, Van Mooy suggests. “That’s important because if viruses infect a whole bunch of cells, then they can’t perform photosynthesis, they can’t take up carbon dioxide.”
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