tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441491750914005356.post2054399420324383082..comments2023-06-16T12:27:49.821+01:00Comments on Microbes Rule the Waves - 2013: Investigating the Photoprotective Capacities of Bacteria collected from Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents in the Mid-Atlantic RidgeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441491750914005356.post-88793410096962178912013-10-24T17:33:50.247+01:002013-10-24T17:33:50.247+01:00Thanks Colin, I’m glad you made that point. That p...Thanks Colin, I’m glad you made that point. That particular idea was also mentioned briefly in the conclusion- they suggest that the metabolites that cause photoprotection actually have different roles in their natural environment, but under certain, favourable, conditions (i.e. exposed to light in the lab) may also act as photoprotectives. It’s widely known that many microorganisms in hydrothermal vents are highly thermotolerant to the extreme temperatures, but now that they have found evidence for mechanisms even in the absence of the stressful conditions, it opens new possibilities for other underlying or secondary roles. Maybe future work could look into how these particular metabolites, or other similar compounds, cope with other types of stressors. This isn’t a brand new concept, but I think it would be fascinating to exploit the multiple purposes of these compounds as they could potentially have an even greater biotechnological potential than the role they play in sunscreens. Because the authors have also found new techniques to cultivate these bacteria, in spite of several complex methods being widely used previously, this provides new and more effective techniques to other deep-sea microbiologists, and could make this type of work easier to undertake in the future. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01828256514411326878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441491750914005356.post-52583626302551028402013-10-23T10:52:56.463+01:002013-10-23T10:52:56.463+01:00It seems fascinating that these bacteria from the ...It seems fascinating that these bacteria from the deep sea produce photoprotective pigments, suggesting to me that the compounds probably have another natural function. Maybe they have general antioxidant properties?Colin Munnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09574545828249747262noreply@blogger.com