ArticleNature communications2021
Pili allow dominant marine cyanobacteria to avoid sinking and evade predation.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed.
- MOF-Derived Cu-TiOAdvanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- A cold-responsiveApplied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Major type IV pilin ofmBio · 2026Article
- A family of tubular pili from harmful algal bloom forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa.Nature communications · 2025Article
- The chitin raft hypothesis for the colonization of the open ocean by cyanobacteria.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Review
- Beyond movement: the dynamic roles of Type IV pili in cyanobacterial life.Journal of bacteriology · 2025Review
- Cyanobacteria and Chloroflexota cooperate to structure light-responsive biofilms.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- EXCRETE workflow enables deep proteomics of the microbial extracellular environment.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Uncovering the genomic basis of symbiotic interactions and niche adaptations in freshwater picocyanobacteria.Microbiome · 2024Article
- Direct interaction between marine cyanobacteria mediated by nanotubes.Science advances · 2024Article
- An ancient bacterial zinc acquisition system identified from a cyanobacterial exoproteome.PLoS biology · 2024Article
- Chitin utilization by marine picocyanobacteria and the evolution of a planktonic lifestyle.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Article
- Phototroph-heterotroph interactions during growth and long-term starvation across Prochlorococcus and Alteromonas diversity.The ISME journal · 2023Article
- Widespread yet persistent low abundance of TIM5-like cyanophages in the oceans.Environmental microbiology · 2022Article
- A single sensor controls large variations in zinc quotas in a marine cyanobacterium.Nature chemical biology · 2022Article
- The evolutionary origin of host association in the Rickettsiales.Nature microbiology · 2022Article
- Microbial Sources of Exocellular DNA in the Ocean.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2022Article
- Cyanobacteria: Model Microorganisms and Beyond.Microorganisms · 2022Review
- The "Dark Side" of Picocyanobacteria: Life as We Do Not Know It (Yet).Microorganisms · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
How oligotrophic marine cyanobacteria position themselves in the water column is currently unknown. The current paradigm is that these organisms avoid sinking due to their reduced size and passive drift within currents. Here, we show that one in four picocyanobacteria encode a type IV pilus which allows these organisms to increase drag and remain suspended at optimal positions in the water column, as well as evade predation by grazers. The evolution of this sophisticated floatation mechanism in these purely planktonic streamlined microorganisms has important implications for our current understanding of microbial distribution in the oceans and predator-prey interactions which ultimately will need incorporating into future models of marine carbon flux dynamics.
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Registered trials
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