Scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have discovered how a tiny yet abundant ocean organism helps regulate the Earth’s climate. Research published today in Nature Microbiology reveals how a bacterial group called ‘Pelagibacterales’ plays an important function in keeping the Earth’s atmosphere stable. The project was led by Prof Steve Giovannoni and Dr Jing Sun at Oregon State University, in collaboration with researchers from UEA among others. They showed that these tiny, hugely abundant bacteria could make the environmentally important gas, dimethyl sulfide. Researchers at UEA identified and characterised the gene that is responsible for this property. Dr...