Bioassay of biotin and its distribution in the sea

The overlooked role of a biotin precursor for marine bacteria - desthiobiotin as an escape route for biotin auxotrophy

“…Whether biotin deficiency can affect planktonic life in the ocean, as has been shown for cobalamin [17,52], for example, is uncertain at this time. However, we also know for biotin that bacterial growth can be restricted by limited availability of the cofactor even at low pM values in batch cultures [31,51]. The comparatively few measurements of dissolved biotin in seawater revealed strong variations, ranging from below detection limit (<1.2 pM) to 700 pM [27][28][29][30][31].…”

“…However, we also know for biotin that bacterial growth can be restricted by limited availability of the cofactor even at low pM values in batch cultures [31,51]. The comparatively few measurements of dissolved biotin in seawater revealed strong variations, ranging from below detection limit (<1.2 pM) to 700 pM [27][28][29][30][31]. Noticeably, especially in the temperate regions with strong seasonal fluctuations, concentrations of biotin in surface waters are in the low picomolar range or below the detection limit [30].…”

“…In the few cases where desthiobiotin was measured along a transect in the Atlantic Ocean and at deep-sea hydrothermal vents from the East Pacific Rise, concentrations exceeded partly those of biotin, and the highest concentrations measured to date were around 100 pM at a deep-sea hydrothermal vent [26,27]. The few dissolved biotin measurements in seawater exhibited strong fluctuations of the final cofactor with values ranging between below the detection limit (<1.2 pM) and up to 700 pM [27][28][29][30][31].…”