Chemists discover previously unknown metabolic pathway in plankton
Sulfur is found in many different compounds throughout the world – not only in the atmosphere, but also in the oceans and on land. All these manifestations are connected in a cycle. To put things simply, the element in its mineral form is reduced and transferred into organic compounds. These are passed around by organisms before finally reaching the atmosphere, where they are oxidized before they return to the land and seas in the rain. While this has been known for some time, chemists at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) and their U.S. colleagues have now discovered a completely unexpected shortcut in the cycle. This process is determined by tiny organisms in the ocean's plankton. The scientists have described their discovery in the latest edition of the renowned research journal Nature.