Bacteria abound in nature.  Experiments conducted in laboratories with the use of the digital trinocular microscope show that all bacteria need iron for their growth.  In the science of marine biology, it is known that there is very little iron in the ocean.
Scientists want to study what molecular mechanisms control are involved in the iron uptake of the bacteria.
What are Sideophores?
Scientists are studying the structures of the newly discovered sideophores which are the iron carrying molecules   secreted by the bacteria to assist in iron acquisition. The sideophores may shed light on how the marine bacteria obtain iron as well as provide answers to the evolution of iron uptake by the marine bacteria.
An article extensively describes the structure of the marinobactin as well as the aquachelin sidephores that have polar pepticidic head group and also hydrophobic fatty acid tails.  As examined under the digital trinocular microscope, they have a hydrophobic portion as all as hydrophilic portions.  Compared to soap, one portion dissolves in water and another portion dissolves in grease.
The marinobactins are present as micelles which are aggregations of molecules and upon addition of iron the micelles were noted to undergo a spontaneous phase change to form vesicles or bladder-like spheres as monitored under the digital trinocular microscope. Once iron is added, it binds to the pepticidic head where the vesicles are formed.  The transformation from micelle to vesicle upon iron coordination is a metal induced phase change in a biological produced compound. The presence of the metal-induced switch raises questions about the physiological role for this transformation.
What caught the attention of the scientists was the fact that different bacteria had the same strategy for acquiring the iron as observed under the microscope.  It is quite interesting to note that the siderophores, whose distinctive properties hint at the possibility of a novel iron acquisition mechanism, are made by strains from two different genera within the gamma proteobacteria.
What the scientists want to do is to conduct other researches that will extensively study the other aspects of sideophores.  Whether the structural strategy represented by these siderophores represents a specific adaptation to the seawater environment and whether it is common among marine bacteria calls for further investigation.
What are Marine Bacteria?
Marine bacteria are minute marine microorganisms. When viewed under the microscope they are a marvel to see.  Marine bacteria include phytoplankton which microscopic plants and animals, known to compete for the limiting pool of iron in seawater. According to the controversial iron hypothesis, phytoplankton are said to take in more carbon dioxide which is considered as a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere when the ocean is fertilized with iron.  Marine bacteria compete successfully against phytoplankton.  This is the reason why studies of the molecular mechanisms of iron uptake are significant.
Based on scientists’ estimates, the oceans presently absorb a big fraction of the carbon dioxide brought about by man’s burning of fossil fuels. The rate of accumulation of this man-made carbon dioxide responsible for climate change or global warming depends largely on how much carbon dioxide mankind emits.  Likewise it also lies on how much of the excess is accumulated by the plants and soil or is transported down into the ocean depths by plankton.
As studied carefully with the aid of the digital trinocular microscope bacteria in the ocean experience a very different environment as compared to the bacteria on land.  As iron is considered as the most important trace element that the bacteria need for their existence, it is beneficial to conduct further investigations to better understand whether the bacteria might have developed special strategies for getting iron.Read the entire article