Page path:
  • Departments
  • MARUM MPG Bridge Group Marine Glycobiology

MARUM MPG Bridge Group Marine Glycobiology

Group leader

MARUM MPG Bridge Group Marine Glycobiology

Dr. Jan-Hendrik Hehemann

MPI for Marine Microbiology
Celsiusstr. 1
D-28359 Bremen
Germany

Room: 

2126

Phone: 

+49 421 2028-7360

Dr. Jan-Hendrik Hehemann
Coscinodiscus wailesii
Coscinodiscus wailesii

Overview

Algal polysaccharides are an important component of the flux of carbon rich organic matter from the surface ocean into its depth. Most marine polysaccharides are synthesized at the surface by microalgae whose annual production is on par with all plants on land even though they only account for about 1-2% of the marine biomass.

This competitive production is caused by intense growth and short lifespans; microalgae live fast and die young (weeks) compared to terrestrial plants (years). They pursue a boom and bust life style with rapid growth and abrupt population crashes whereby algal blooms can appear and disappear within weeks or even days. During growth and upon death microalgae secrete copious amounts of anionic polysaccharides. These are known to spontaneously aggregate into particles, which can more rapidly sink through the water column and inject carbon into deeper waters (the biological pump).

Bacteria colonize particles and use enzymes to recycle polysaccharides leading to intense bacterial growth and particle dissolution. This way the interplay between particle formation and its dissolution may regulate the biological pump and dictate how much carbon is stored in the oceans.

Despite the relevance of this process the structures of algal polysaccharides and their recycling by marine microbes remain a mystery. To shed light on this black box of the marine carbon cycle we study the functional evolution of the bacterial enzymatic machines and how they process algal polysaccharides in the ocean

Please, click here to find out more about our research.

If you are interested in the members of the MARUM MPG Bridge Group Marine Glycobiology, please click here.

 

Re­cent news

Selected publications

Vidal-Melgosa, S., Sichert, A., Francis, T.B. et al. Diatom fucan polysaccharide precipitates carbon during algal blooms. Nat Commun 12, 1150 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21009-6

Sichert, A., Corzett, C.H., Schechter, M.S. et al. Verrucomicrobia use hundreds of enzymes to digest the algal polysaccharide fucoidan. Nat Microbiol 5, 1026–1039 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-020-0720-2

Buck-Wiese, H., Fanuel, M., Liebeke, M. et al. Discrimination of β-1,4- and β-1,3-Linkages in Native Oligosaccharides via Charge Transfer Dissociation Mass Spectrometry. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 31 (6), 1249-1259 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1021/jasms.0c00087
 
Becker, S., Tebben, J., Coffinet, S. et al. Laminarin is a major molecule in the marine carbon cycle. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 117 (12), 6599-6607 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1917001117
 
Reisky, L., Préchoux, A., Zühlke, MK. et al. A marine bacterial enzymatic cascade degrades the algal polysaccharide ulvan. Nat Chem Biol 15, 803–812 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-019-0311-9
 
Hehemann, JH., Reintjes, G., Klassen, L. et al. Single cell fluorescence imaging of glycan uptake by intestinal bacteria. ISME J 13, 1883–1889 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-019-0406-z
 
Robb, C. S., Reisky, L., Bornscheuer, U. T., Hehemann, J.-H. Specificity and mechanism of carbohydrate demethylation by cytochrome P450 monooxygenases. Biochem J 475 (23), 3875–3886 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20180762
 
Mystkowska, A.A., Robb, C., Vidal‐Melgosa, S., Vanni, C., Fernandez‐Guerra, A., Höhne, M., Hehemann, J.‐H. Molecular recognition of the beta‐glucans laminarin and pustulan by a SusD‐like glycan‐binding protein of a marine Bacteroidetes. FEBS J 285, 4465-4481 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.14674
Steffen and Soeren are preparing a camera on the deck of the Poseidon, which takes underwater pictures of zooplankton and particles. (© Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology)
Steffen and Soeren are preparing a camera on the deck of the Poseidon, which takes underwater pictures of zooplankton and particles. (© Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology)
Tense faces as the first depth profile from the CTD appears on the screen. (© Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology)
Tense faces as the first depth profile from the CTD appears on the screen. (© Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology)
Phytoplankton (or microalgae) in the Canary Islands upwelling area. (© Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology)
Phytoplankton (or microalgae) in the Canary Islands upwelling area. (© Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology)
Final agreement at the trade fair between the scientists before the first station is reached. (© Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology)
Final agreement at the trade fair between the scientists before the first station is reached. (© Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology)
 
Back to Top