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Marine proteorhodopsins rival photosynthesis in solar energy capture

Laura Gómez-Consarnau, Naomi M. Levine, Lynda S. Cutter, Deli Wang, Brian Seegers, Javier Arístegui, Jed A. Fuhrman, Josep M. Gasol, Sergio A. Sañudo-Wilhelmy
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/231167
Laura Gómez-Consarnau
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Naomi M. Levine
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Lynda S. Cutter
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Deli Wang
2State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, 422 Siming Nanlu, 361005 Xiamen, China
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Brian Seegers
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Javier Arístegui
3Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus Universitario de Tafira, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
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Jed A. Fuhrman
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Josep M. Gasol
4Institut de Ciències del Mar-CMIMA (CSIC), ES-08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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Sergio A. Sañudo-Wilhelmy
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA
5Department of Earth Science, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Abstract

All known phototrophic metabolisms on Earth are based on one of three energy-converting pigments: chlorophyll-a, bacteriochlorophyll-a, and retinal, which is the chromophore in rhodopsins [1]. While the contribution of chlorophylls to global energy flows and marine carbon cycling has been studied for decades, the role of retinal-based phototrophy remains largely unexplored [1,2]. We report the first vertical distributions of the three energy-converting pigments measured along a contrasting nutrient gradient through the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. The highest proteorhodopsin concentrations were observed above the deep chlorophyll-a maxima, and their geographical distribution tended to be inversely related to that of chlorophyll-a. We further show that proteorhodopsins potentially absorb as much or more light energy than chlorophyll-a –based phototrophy and this energy is sufficient to sustain bacterial basal metabolism. Our results suggest that ubiquitous proteorhodopsin-containing heterotrophs are important contributors to the light energy captured in the sea.

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Posted April 10, 2018.
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Marine proteorhodopsins rival photosynthesis in solar energy capture
Laura Gómez-Consarnau, Naomi M. Levine, Lynda S. Cutter, Deli Wang, Brian Seegers, Javier Arístegui, Jed A. Fuhrman, Josep M. Gasol, Sergio A. Sañudo-Wilhelmy
bioRxiv 231167; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/231167
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Marine proteorhodopsins rival photosynthesis in solar energy capture
Laura Gómez-Consarnau, Naomi M. Levine, Lynda S. Cutter, Deli Wang, Brian Seegers, Javier Arístegui, Jed A. Fuhrman, Josep M. Gasol, Sergio A. Sañudo-Wilhelmy
bioRxiv 231167; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/231167

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