{"entity": "researcher", "timestamp": "2026-09-30T06:23:31.296Z", "family": "Sultana", "given": "Sabiha", "initials": "S", "orcid": "0000-0002-5243-8712", "affiliations": ["Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universit\u00e4t Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany."], "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/0343eb52ca9746b9882cf9663ca344a5.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/0343eb52ca9746b9882cf9663ca344a5"}}, "publications": [{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "f19fe766961c47ebafcd3bbe0dd6aa64", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/f19fe766961c47ebafcd3bbe0dd6aa64.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/f19fe766961c47ebafcd3bbe0dd6aa64"}}, "title": "Vitamin B12 release through bacteriophage-mediated cell lysis of the marine bacterium Sulfitobacter sp. M39.", "authors": [{"family": "Sultana", "given": "Sabiha", "initials": "S", "orcid": "0000-0002-5243-8712", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/0343eb52ca9746b9882cf9663ca344a5.json"}}, {"family": "Bruns", "given": "Stefan", "initials": "S", "orcid": "0000-0002-4267-7832", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/0c9724c043ec4181b8278bc364d638ee.json"}}, {"family": "Pacheco-Valenciana", "given": "Armando", "initials": "A", "orcid": "0009-0009-2801-0917", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/4dfa9503682c4b94abb1a5fe1da93ff8.json"}}, {"family": "Mehrshad", "given": "Maliheh", "initials": "M", "orcid": "0000-0002-1108-6888", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5bb2ebf2d5d94ac4bfdeb275983034ea.json"}}, {"family": "Wilkes", "given": "Heinz", "initials": "H", "orcid": "0000-0002-0421-0107", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/fb8989ef0246483c82108919456b00cd.json"}}, {"family": "Simon", "given": "Meinhard", "initials": "M", "orcid": "0000-0002-6151-6989", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/817d9d3b3efc4cd28c0c8a882ea77492.json"}}, {"family": "Garcia", "given": "Sarahi", "initials": "S", "orcid": "0000-0002-8622-0308", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/df5f980a4dfb4b669961af28a1242f12.json"}}, {"family": "Wienhausen", "given": "Gerrit", "initials": "G", "orcid": "0000-0002-3562-5997", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/a1df8236e7b24027b858bf36794cbec6.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2025-01-00", "journal": {"title": "ISME Commun", "issn": "2730-6151", "volume": "5", "issue": "1", "pages": "ycaf136", "issn-l": null}, "abstract": "Vitamin B12 (B12) is an essential cofactor for vital metabolic processes in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. De novo B12 biosynthesis is exclusively carried out by a modicum of prokaryotes, although being required by most organisms. Recently, it has been demonstrated that not all B12-prototrophic bacteria voluntarily share this vital cofactor and, therefore, are termed B12-retainers. Consequently, low biosynthesis potential and limited voluntary release lead to a large discrepancy between availability and demand for B12 in the ocean, indicating that release of B12 may be an important control. Hence, in this study, we examined a specific release process, cell lysis after phage infection. We isolated bacteriophages specific for the B12-prototrophic, yet B12-retainer bacterium Sulfitobacter sp. M39. The addition of the bacteriophages to a Sulfitobacter sp. M39 mono-culture led to a significant increase in virus-like particles, reduced bacterial growth, and quantifiable extracellular dissolved B12. When introducing bacteriophages to a co-culture comprising the host bacterium and the B12-auxotrophic diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana, we observed rapid response in the form of microalgal growth. Our results indicate that B12 is released as a result of bacteriophage-mediated cell lysis of Sulfitobacter sp. M39, enabling the growth of T. pseudonana in co-culture and possibly other microbes in nature. Therefore, we propose that bacteriophage-mediated cell lysis is a key mechanism for the release of essential metabolites, including vitamins, and given the estimated bacteriophage infection rates in the ocean, it plays a crucial role in the B-vitamin cycle in the marine environment.", "doi": "10.1093/ismeco/ycaf136", "pmid": "40994829", "labels": {"SciLifeLab Fellow": "", "Sarahi Garcia": ""}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC12456174"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "ycaf136"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-09-23T09:12:26.900Z", "modified": "2026-09-23T09:12:27.151Z"}]}