Microbial dimethylsulfonioopropionate metabolism in the Southern Ocean reveals hiddedn climate relavant pathways

This sequence data was generated from the Southern Ocean seawater and sea ice samples over the winter season. It reveals substantial differences in microbial communities between the seawater and sea ice samples. These microorganisms were found to possess key genes encoding for rate-limiting steps for the production of dimethylsulfonioopropionate and its degradation into climate relavant compounds, being dimethylsulfide and methanethiol. The study revealed that microbes are likely to express genes for DMSP production to circumvent environmental pressures such as high salinity and cold in the sea ice.