When you take a deep breath near the ocean, you’ll pick up a scent of the sea. That scent, that can be almost rotten, salty, and damp, comes from a molecule called dimethylsulfide or DMS. That scent offers a mere glimpse of the fascinating and far-reaching role DMS, and its precursor molecule dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), play in the environment.
Scientists believe that DMSP acts as an antioxidant to neutralize potentially damaging chemicals generated by cellular processes and ultraviolet radiation from the sun. These scientists are also taking a closer look at how other sea organisms react with molecules like DMSP. For example, Ruegeria pomeroyi (Rpom), is a bacteria that eats DMSP and produces DMS. By studying these types of interactions, researchers can tap into a vast molecular world that covers a majority of our planet.
For more on this research, read the full story in Oceanus Magazine
here.
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