Distribution and seasonal variation of vitamin B12, thiamine and biotin in the sea

The distributions and seasonal variations of vitamin B₁₂, thiamine and biotin were investigated in waters of the North Pacific Ocean, the East China Sea, and the bays and inlets along the Pacific coast of Japan, by use of microbiological assay methods. A marine diatom Cyclotella nana clone 3H for vitamin B₁₂, and marine yeast Cryptococcus albidus for thiamine, and a marine bacterium Achromobacter sp. strain yH-51 for biotin were used as assay organisms. In the surface water of Sagami Bay, monthly changes in the amounts of the three dissolved vitamins followed closely that of chlorophyll a, being highest in July and lowest during late autumn and winter. The geographical and vertical distributions of thiamine and biotin in the sea generally showed similar patterns to that of chlorophyll a, whereas vitamin B₁₂ did not always follow the trend. Amounts of particulate thiamine and biotin corresponded to about 1 % of that of the dissolved form in the surface water of the North Pacific Ocean. In the coastal waters, however, they were at times found to be 144.0 % and 53.9 % respectively.