ABSTRACT
The oceans, which cover approximately 70% of the earth’s surface (Fenical 1993), contain a variety of species, many of which have no terrestrial counterparts. The high organic matter conned in the oceans may be considered favorable for the evolution and growth of life in general. One of the pioneers of marine microbiology, Claude Zobell, began his work in delineating the vast numbers and diversity of marine bacteria in the 1930s, and his
CONTENTS
9.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 117 9.2 Occurrence and Diversity of Pigmented Heterotrophic Bacteria
in Marine Ecosystems ....................................................................................................... 118 9.2.1 Assessment of Diversity and Identication of Marine Bacteria ...................... 119 9.2.2 Pigmented Heterotrophic Bacteria ...................................................................... 121
9.3 Pigments Produced by Marine Heterotrophic Bacteria and Their Physiological Role .............................................................................................................. 127 9.3.1 Physiological Role .................................................................................................. 127 9.3.2 Pigment Groups ..................................................................................................... 129
9.3.2.1 Carotenoids .............................................................................................. 129 9.3.2.2 Phenazine Compounds .......................................................................... 130 9.3.2.3 Prodiginines............................................................................................. 130 9.3.2.4 Tambjamines ............................................................................................ 131 9.3.2.5 Melanins ................................................................................................... 131 9.3.2.6 Violacein ................................................................................................... 132 9.3.2.7 Other Pigments ........................................................................................ 132
9.4 Isolation and Identication of Pigments ......................................................................... 134 9.4.1 Extraction ................................................................................................................ 135 9.4.2 High-Throughput Screening ................................................................................ 135 9.4.3 Worked Example to Characterize a PHB Extract by LC-MS ........................... 136
9.5 Concluding Remarks ......................................................................................................... 139 Acknowledgment ........................................................................................................................ 139 References ..................................................................................................................................... 139
classic book Marine Microbiology was published in 1946 (ZoBell 1946). Microbiologically, the oceans are massively complex and consist of a diverse assemblage of microbial life forms, which occur in environments of extreme variations in pressure, salinity, and temperature. Hence, the concentration of the microbial population varies signicantly, and a typical mL of seawater contains 106 microorganisms, ranging from 103 to 107 (Jensen and Fenical 1996; Chin et al. 2006; Valentine 2007).
