Fungi are overlooked dimethylsulfoniopropionate degraders in marine environments

Abstract

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is a key marine organosulfur compound, whose microbial catabolism is critical to global sulfur cycling and is the major source of the climate-active gas dimethyl sulfide (DMS). Research has focused on bacterial and algal DMSP catabolism, potentially overlooking the importance of fungi. Here, we vastly extend the known diversity of fungi that cleave DMSP to DMS, showing that many lacked known DMSP lyases, and Pezizomycotina members were most active. The marine-derived yeast-like fungus Aureobasidium melanogenum imported DMSP for osmoprotection, and assimilated it via a previously unreported and efficient cupin-family cytoplasmic DMSP lyase, termed DddF. The DddF co-product, acrylate, was catabolized to acryloyl-CoA in the cytoplasm, with subsequent metabolism occurring in mitochondria. Functional dddF genes are widely found across major fungal classes (e.g. Dothideomycetes, Sordariomycetes) common throughout marine ecosystems. Thus, the fungal capacity to catabolize DMSP is far more prevalent than previously believed, highlighting their potential importance in marine sulfur cycling and DMS production.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{liu2026fungi,
  title = {{Fungi are overlooked dimethylsulfoniopropionate degraders in marine environments}},
  author = {Guang-Lei Liu and Min Zhang and Ji-Zheng Song and Yu Wang and Zhao-Lei Zhang and Nan Zhang and Fu-Hui Zheng and Zeng-Tian Gu and Tianjiao Zhu and Ummay Honi and Isabelle Storer and Eva Breyer and Ozlem Pullin and Alice Fredriksson and Stefan Bidula and Federico Baltar and Jonathan D Todd and Yu-Zhong Zhang and Chun-Yang Li},
  journal = {The ISME Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1093/ismejo/wrag269},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrag269},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Fungi are overlooked dimethylsulfoniopropionate degraders in marine environments
AU  - Guang-Lei Liu
AU  - Min Zhang
AU  - Ji-Zheng Song
AU  - Yu Wang
AU  - Zhao-Lei Zhang
AU  - Nan Zhang
AU  - Fu-Hui Zheng
AU  - Zeng-Tian Gu
AU  - Tianjiao Zhu
AU  - Ummay Honi
AU  - Isabelle Storer
AU  - Eva Breyer
AU  - Ozlem Pullin
AU  - Alice Fredriksson
AU  - Stefan Bidula
AU  - Federico Baltar
AU  - Jonathan D Todd
AU  - Yu-Zhong Zhang
AU  - Chun-Yang Li
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/17
JO  - The ISME Journal
DO  - 10.1093/ismejo/wrag269
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrag269
AB  - Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is a key marine organosulfur compound, whose microbial catabolism is critical to global sulfur cycling and is the major source of the climate-active gas dimethyl sulfide (DMS). Research has focused on bacterial and algal DMSP catabolism, potentially overlooking the importance of fungi. Here, we vastly extend the known diversity of fungi that cleave DMSP to DMS, showing that many lacked known DMSP lyases, and Pezizomycotina members were most active. The marine-derived yeast-like fungus Aureobasidium melanogenum imported DMSP for osmoprotection, and assimilated it via a previously unreported and efficient cupin-family cytoplasmic DMSP lyase, termed DddF. The DddF co-product, acrylate, was catabolized to acryloyl-CoA in the cytoplasm, with subsequent metabolism occurring in mitochondria. Functional dddF genes are widely found across major fungal classes (e.g. Dothideomycetes, Sordariomycetes) common throughout marine ecosystems. Thus, the fungal capacity to catabolize DMSP is far more prevalent than previously believed, highlighting their potential importance in marine sulfur cycling and DMS production.
SN  - 1751-7362
SN  - 1751-7370
ER  -

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