The Biogeochemistry of Marine Polysaccharides: Sources, Inventories, and Bacterial Drivers of the Carbohydrate Cycle


Contact
matthias.wietz [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

Polysaccharides are major components of macroalgal and phytoplankton biomass and constitute a large fraction of the organic matter produced and degraded in the ocean. Until recently, however, our knowledge of marine polysaccharides was limited due to their great structural complexity, the correspondingly complicated enzymatic machinery used by microbial communities to degrade them, and a lack of readily applied means to isolate and characterize polysaccharides in detail. Advances in carbohydrate chemistry, bioinformatics, molecular ecology, and microbiology have led to new insights into the structures of polysaccharides, the means by which they are degraded by bacteria, and the ecology of polysaccharide production and decomposition. Here, we survey current knowledge, discuss recent advances, and present a new conceptual model linking polysaccharide structural complexity and abundance to microbially driven mechanisms of polysaccharide processing. We conclude by highlighting specific future research foci that will shed light on this central but poorly characterized component of the marine carbon cycle.



Item Type
Article
Authors
Divisions
Primary Division
Programs
Primary Topic
Publication Status
Published
Eprint ID
52811
DOI 10.1146/annurev-marine-032020-012810

Cite as
Arnosti, C. , Wietz, M. , Brinkhoff, T. , Hehemann, J. H. , Probandt, D. , Zeugner, L. and Amann, R. (2021): The Biogeochemistry of Marine Polysaccharides: Sources, Inventories, and Bacterial Drivers of the Carbohydrate Cycle , Annual Review of Marine Science, 13 . doi: 10.1146/annurev-marine-032020-012810


Share
Add to AnyAdd to TwitterAdd to FacebookAdd to LinkedinAdd to PinterestAdd to Email


Citation

Geographical region
N/A

Research Platforms
N/A

Campaigns
N/A


Actions
Edit Item Edit Item