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Bremen (pte041/10.04.2003/14:24) - Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for marine microbiology in Bremen http://www.mpi-bremen.de have discovered a hitherto unknown ecosystem under the Black Sea.
Together with researchers at Delft University in the Netherlands, German scientists found living bacteria in layers of sediment over a million years old.
The unknown bacteria have the capacity to turn ammonium, necessary for the growth of algae, into atmospheric nitrogen. The cycle requires no oxygen, and the conditions in which these bacteria live can be found at the bottom of most oceans.
Scientists believe these bacteria may play a large role in the global circulation of nitrogen and the growth of algae, as well as the earth's climate.
Over thirty years ago, marine researchers suspected that ammonium could be consumed under oxygen-free conditions, but it wasn't until recently that bacteria capable of performing this feat were found - in sewage treatment plants.
However, the slow growth of these bacteria in wastewater treatment facilities led scientists to doubt the existence of any marine cousins that could play a significant role in the climate of the planet and ecosystems of the oceans.
DNA tests show that the organisms found in the Black Sea are closely related to the bacteria found in the sewage treatment plants, and that their marine relatives appear to play a great role indeed. The results of the study have been published in Nature http://www.nature.com
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