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ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY

Cryptic microbial hydrocarbon cycling

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Cyanobacteria, which produce ~25% of global oxygen, also release around 100 times more hydrocarbons into the ocean than all petroleum sources. A cryptic microbial cycle explains why these hydrocarbons do not accumulate in the sea.

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Fig. 1: Short- and long-term hydrocarbon cycles in the global ocean.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

    Terry J. McGenity & Boyd A. McKew

  2. School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    David J. Lea-Smith

Authors
  1. Terry J. McGenity
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  2. Boyd A. McKew
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  3. David J. Lea-Smith
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Correspondence to Terry J. McGenity.

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McGenity, T.J., McKew, B.A. & Lea-Smith, D.J. Cryptic microbial hydrocarbon cycling. Nat Microbiol 6, 419–420 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-021-00881-4

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