Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31332382›Full record

ArticleNature microbiology2019

Sulfonate-based networks between eukaryotic phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria in the surface ocean.

Bryndan P Durham, Angela K Boysen, Laura T Carlson, Ryan D Groussman, Katherine R Heal, Kelsy R Cain, Rhonda L Morales, Sacha N Coesel, Robert M Morris, Anitra E Ingalls and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature microbiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
71citing papers in PubMed
14.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

71 citing papers in PubMed, 174 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Characterization of phytoplankton-excreted metabolites mediating carbon flux through the surface ocean.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
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  6. Review
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  9. The Stone MorokoBiology · 2025
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  20. From nets to networks: tools for deciphering phytoplankton metabolic interactions within communities and their global significance.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2024
    Review

11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Bryndan P DurhamSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. bpdurham@uw.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2253-157X
Angela K BoysenSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8193-630X
Laura T CarlsonSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Ryan D GroussmanSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Katherine R HealSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Kelsy R CainSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8567-3340
Rhonda L MoralesSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Sacha N CoeselSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Robert M MorrisSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Anitra E IngallsSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
E Virginia ArmbrustSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
University of Washington · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In the surface ocean, phytoplankton transform inorganic substrates into organic matter that fuels the activity of heterotrophic microorganisms, creating intricate metabolic networks that determine the extent of carbon recycling and storage in the ocean. Yet, the diversity of organic molecules and interacting organisms has hindered detection of specific relationships that mediate this large flux of energy and matter. Here, we show that a tightly coupled microbial network based on organic sulfur compounds (sulfonates) exists among key lineages of eukaryotic phytoplankton producers and heterotrophic bacterial consumers in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. We find that cultured eukaryotic phytoplankton taxa produce sulfonates, often at millimolar internal concentrations. These same phytoplankton-derived sulfonates support growth requirements of an open-ocean isolate of the SAR11 clade, the most abundant group of marine heterotrophic bacteria. Expression of putative sulfonate biosynthesis genes and sulfonate abundances in natural plankton communities over the diel cycle link sulfonate production to light availability. Contemporaneous expression of sulfonate catabolism genes in heterotrophic bacteria highlights active cycling of sulfonates in situ. Our study provides evidence that sulfonates serve as an ecologically important currency for nutrient and energy exchange between microbial autotrophs and heterotrophs, highlighting the importance of organic sulfur compounds in regulating ecosystem function.

Indexed as

Microbial ConsortiaAutotrophic ProcessesBacteriaCircadian RhythmEukaryotaHeterotrophic ProcessesLightMetabolic Networks and PathwaysPacific OceanPhytoplanktonSeawaterSulfonic AcidsSulfonic Acids

Identifiers

PMID31332382
OpenAlexW2962866964

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.