LINKING THE ENZYMATIC REPERTOIRE OF HETEROTROPHIC BACTERIA TO COMMUNITY COMPOSITION, CARBOHYDRATE INVENTORIES, AND PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC ...
The balance of carbon between the atmosphere and ocean—which ultimately impacts the Earth’s climate—is dependent upon the production of organic matter by algae and its fate after being processed by heterotrophic microorganisms. In fact, heterotrophic bacteria—which can be particle-associated or free...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
2023
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.17615/5xtf-6914 https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/dissertations/ff365g57c |
| Summary: | The balance of carbon between the atmosphere and ocean—which ultimately impacts the Earth’s climate—is dependent upon the production of organic matter by algae and its fate after being processed by heterotrophic microorganisms. In fact, heterotrophic bacteria—which can be particle-associated or free-living—are responsible for processing an estimated half of the organic matter that phytoplankton synthesize in the surface ocean. A large proportion of this organic matter is in the form of polysaccharides, or structurally complex, high molecular weight sugars. To transform this complex organic matter, microbes must produce enzymes of the correct structural specificity to transform it to smaller pieces that can be brought into the cell. The extent and rates to which bacteria can hydrolyze organic matter determines how much carbon is transformed for a given microbial community. Because microbial community composition differs with location and depth in the ocean, quantifying the enzymatic activities and complexity ... |
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