{"entity": "researcher", "timestamp": "2026-09-30T07:01:59.432Z", "family": "Simon", "given": "Meinhard", "initials": "M", "orcid": "0000-0002-6151-6989", "affiliations": ["Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universit\u00e4t Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.", "Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB), Oldenburg, Germany."], "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/817d9d3b3efc4cd28c0c8a882ea77492.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/817d9d3b3efc4cd28c0c8a882ea77492"}}, "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"}]}