Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41572000›Full record

ArticleNature microbiology2026

Phosphate deprivation restricts bacterial degradation of the marine polysaccharide fucoidan.

Yi Xu, Bowei Gu, Huiying Yao, Mikkel Schultz-Johansen, Isabella Wilkie, Leesa Jane Klau, Yuerong Chen, Luis H Orellana, Finn Lillelund Aachmann, Mahum Farhan and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Yi Xu *Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-1524
Bowei Gu *Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
Huiying Yao *Microbiology and Metabolic Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Mikkel Schultz-JohansenFaculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
Isabella WilkieMax Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1072-8081
Leesa Jane KlauNorwegian Biopolymer Laboratory (NOBIPOL), Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Yuerong ChenFaculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
Luis H OrellanaMax Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany.
Finn Lillelund AachmannNorwegian Biopolymer Laboratory (NOBIPOL), Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1613-4663
Mahum FarhanFaculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
Greta ReintjesFaculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7085-4683
Silvia Vidal-MelgosaFaculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
Dairong QiaoMicrobiology and Metabolic Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Yi CaoMicrobiology and Metabolic Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. cyi@scu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6216-548X
Jan-Hendrik HehemannFaculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany. jhhehemann@marum.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8700-2564

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Brown algae and diatoms convert carbon dioxide into the polysaccharide fucoidan, which sequesters carbon in the ocean despite the prevalence of marine bacterial fucoidanase genes. Bacteria with fucoidanase genes also have high-affinity phosphate transporters, suggesting that phosphate could impact fucoidan degradation and subsequent carbon sequestration. Here, to test this hypothesis, we assembled a system consisting of a microalga that produces and a bacterium that degrades fucoidan. The fixation of carbon dioxide into fucoidan by the microalga Glossomastix sp. PLY432 occurred independent of the phosphate concentration. In contrast, the fucoidan-degrading Verrucomicrobiaceae bacterium 227 was inhibited by a lack of phosphate. Degradation of the structurally simpler polysaccharide laminarin was less affected by the phosphate concentration. Phosphate deprivation enabled the fixation of carbon dioxide in fucoidan and disabled its degradation. These conclusions suggest that phosphate deprivation could be a potential strategy to promote the fixation and sequestration of carbon dioxide as fucoidan.

Indexed as

BacteriaPhosphatesPolysaccharidesCarbon CycleCarbon DioxideGlucansMicroalgaePhaeophyceaeCarbon DioxidefucoidanGlucanslaminaranPhosphatesPolysaccharides

Identifiers

PMID41572000
PMCPMC12872454

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.