Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41912647›Full record

ArticleNature microbiology2026

Conserved pathway for homarine catabolism in environmental bacteria.

Frank X Ferrer-González, Katherine R Heal, Joshua S Sacks, Yarinet Romero-Maysonet, Anna H Finch, Laura T Carlson, Lisa S Y Coe, Zinka Bartolek, Claudia B Luthy, Moira P Gaffney and 11 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 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Mapping an ocean metabolite's path.Nature microbiology · 2026
    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

21 authors.

Frank X Ferrer-González *School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0570-5168
Katherine R Heal *School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Joshua S SacksSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8513-0589
Yarinet Romero-MaysonetDepartment of Biology, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-4104-635X
Anna H FinchSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-2160-7177
Laura T CarlsonSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Lisa S Y CoeDepartment of Biology and Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2244-9058
Zinka BartolekSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8701-8291
Claudia B LuthySchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Moira P GaffneyDepartment of Biology, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-6727-3562
Sabine K AngierDepartment of Biology, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-4635-0047
Samantha E FlynnDepartment of Biology, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-8347-4940
Chiara I Bachmann GómezDepartment of Biology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-3262-0527
Jensen M L DunnDepartment of Biology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-5727-4662
Kenzie J BayDepartment of Biology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-4166-6664
Lia A YamamotoDepartment of Biology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-0914-1535
Matthew Z TienDepartment of Biology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, USA.
E Virginia ArmbrustSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7865-5101
Bryndan P DurhamDepartment of Biology and Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2253-157X
Oscar A SosaDepartment of Biology, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, USA. ososa@pugetsound.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4235-9962
Anitra E IngallsSchool of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. aingalls@uw.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1953-7329

Funding

Simons Foundation 916384
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Homarine (N-methylpicolinic acid) is a ubiquitous marine metabolite produced by phytoplankton and noted for its infochemical properties among marine animals, yet its microbial degradation pathways are uncharacterized. Here we identify a conserved operon (homABCDER) that mediates homarine catabolism in bacteria using comparative transcriptomics, mutagenesis and targeted knockouts. Phylogenetic and genomic analyses show that this operon is distributed across abundant bacterial clades, including coastal copiotrophs (for example, Rhodobacterales) and open-ocean oligotrophs (for example, SAR11, SAR116), and in genomes from non-marine environments. High-resolution mass spectrometry revealed N-methylglutamic acid and glutamic acid as key metabolic products of homarine in both model and natural systems, with N-methyl-glutamate dehydrogenase catalysing their conversion. Metatranscriptomics showed responsive and in situ expression of hom genes aligned with homarine availability. These findings uncover the genetic and metabolic basis of homarine degradation, establish its ecological relevance and highlight homarine as a versatile growth substrate that feeds into central metabolism via glutamic acid in diverse marine bacteria.

Indexed as

BacteriaMetabolic Networks and PathwaysGene Expression ProfilingGene Knockout TechniquesGlutamic AcidOperonPhylogenyGlutamic Acid

Identifiers

PMID41912647
PMCPMC13236597

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.