A 'B12 shot' for marine algae?
Saturday, June 2, 2012 - 21:30
in Biology & Nature
Studying algal cultures and seawater samples from the Southern Ocean off Antarctica, marine biologists have revealed a key cog in the biochemical machinery that allows marine algae at the base of the oceanic food chain to thrive. They have discovered a previously unknown protein in algae that grabs an essential but scarce nutrient out of seawater, vitamin B12.