One of Earth’s most abundant lifeforms has a fatal flaw

One of Earth’s most abundant lifeforms has a fatal flaw

SAR11 bacteria dominate the world’s oceans by being incredibly efficient, shedding genes to survive in nutrient-poor waters. But that extreme streamlining appears to backfire when conditions change. Under stress, many cells keep copying their DNA without dividing, creating abnormal cells that grow large and die. This vulnerability may explain why SAR11 populations drop during phytoplankton blooms and could become more important as oceans grow le…

Earth’s most abundant organism is surprisingly fragile

An evolutionary adaptation that allows one ocean bacteria to thrive could prove to be its Achilles Heel as oceans change.

One of Earth’s most abundant organisms is surprisingly fragile

A group of ocean bacteria long considered perfectly adapted to life in nutrient-poor waters may be more vulnerable to environmental change than scientists realized. The bacteria, known as SAR11, dominate surface seawater worldwide and can make up as much as 40% of marine bacterial cells. Their success is tied to genome streamlining, an evolutionary process in which organisms lose genes to reduce energy costs in nutrient-limited environments. A n…