Algae emitting gases

Algae play a key role in biogeochemical trace element cycling. One of the important pathways is methylation and subsequent volatilization which can result in elemental redistribution in the environment. Production of volatile Se compounds in the ocean could, for example, provide terrestrial environments with essential elements from the ocean. In our lab we use different methods such as chemotrapping using nitric acid and direct gas-phase analyses using GC-MS to analyze volatile compounds produced by globally relevant algae species such as the model green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardti and marine phytoplankton Emiliania huxleyi. Understanding the mechanisms of biomethylation and how this process is affected by environmental and climatic change is essential in predicting changes in atmospheric fluxes.