Microbial Marine Marvels Deliver Vitamins

Recent scientific evidence highlights the intelligent design of
microbial–phytoplankton vitamin exchange, a process
that makes the seafood we eat more nourishing 

Microbe Marvels: Intelligent Processes that Make Marine Meals More Nourishing 

 By Dr. Sarah Buckland-Reynolds 

Seafood is considered by medical sources as among the top foods recommended to obtain a natural boost in a variety of Vitamins indispensable in making healthy red blood cells and converting food into energy. While we enjoy life-sustaining seafood dishes, new research sheds light on the hidden processes that are responsible for sustaining the nutrition of sea creatures in the open ocean. In a recent study published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography, “Seasonal patterns in B-vitamins and cobalamin co-limitation in the Northwest Atlantic,” 27 September 2025, authors Bannon et al. found that the primary nutrient provider in this process-chain is invisible to the human eye: microbes. 

Microbes: Unsung Heroes of the Ocean 

While microbes are often perceived as harmful organisms in our culture, several species of microbes perform functions that nourish, build, and protect ecosystems. Bannon, et al.’s five-year study of the Scotian Shelf off Nova Scotia found an intriguing case study of these ‘good microbes’ when they aimed to trace Vitamin production in marine organisms. To this end, the researchers quantified 11 vitamin and vitamer metabolites in particulate samples, including multiple forms of B12 (Me-, Ado-, OH-, CN-B12), thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), and precursors like DMB and HET.  

The results of the study, led by Canadian researchers Dr. Catherine Bannon and Dr. Erin Bertrand, revealed the remarkable foundation that microorganisms play in the nutrition that is passed from the sea directly to our plate. In their words: 

… the B-vitamins that are made by these small microorganisms are actually the B-vitamins that get to the food supply. 

In further commentary on the paper published by Dalhousie University, “Vitamin Sea: How tiny ocean lifeforms shape nutrition,” December 17, 2025, one of the researchers, Dr. Bertrand explained:  

These marine microbes and their interactions are the only source of vitamins in seafoods, meaning that to understand the future of vitamin supply to humans from the sea, we need to understand how, how much, and when they are produced by marine microbes. 

Their research revealed the following sequential process in the food chain from microbe to fish to humans:  

1. Bacteria produce Vitamin B12 
2. Phytoplankton rely on this bacterial B12 production 
3. Fish eat the phytoplankton 
4. Humans eat the fish.  

While the sequence appears simplistic at first glance, the researchers found significant complexity in the vitamin availability patterns, which were dependent on a variety of factors, including seasonal variations (temperature, salinity), distance from the shoreline shelf (on or off), and other physical drivers, which seamlessly synchronized with biochemical exchanges. 

An examination of step one (bacterial production of Vitamin B12) provides remarkable insights on the irreducible complexity involved in this process. Previous research published in Springer Nature, “Vitamin B12: Biosynthesis of the Corrin Ring,” 2009, by other researchers (Graham, Deery and Warren), documents that cobalamin (vitamin B12) is one of the most complex natural molecules, and its biosynthesis requires over 30 distinct enzymatic steps. The central ring of the vitamin (called the ‘corrin ring’), is built when bacteria and archaea perform a long sequence of transformations including: 

• Peripheral methylation: Where small chemical groups are added to the corrin ring to change its shape and reactivity. 
• Ring contraction: The large ring is squeezed into a smaller one, giving B12 its special structure. 
• Decarboxylation: Certain side groups are removed, helping the ring become more compact and usable. 
• Amidation: Side groups are changed into stronger bonds that stabilize the ring. 
• Cobalt chelation: A cobalt atom is placed at the center of the ring, making B12 unique. 
• Adenosylation: A final chemical group is attached, creating the active form of vitamin B12. 

These in addition to several others, total over 30 enzyme-mediated steps required to produce biologically active cobalamin by completing the corrin ring production. Without these steps, bio-available synthesis of B12 by these microorganisms would fail. 

These processes raise pertinent issues for the field of origins: For Darwinian evolutionists, the sheer number of coordinated steps makes it difficult to explain how such a pathway could evolve gradually. Each intermediate step requires specific enzymes, and partial pathways confer no survival advantage.

Vitamin Transfer Shows “Smart” Seasonal Variability 

In examining the physical factors impacting the next stage of the process of vitamin transfer from bacteria to phytoplankton, temperature fluctuations between spring and fall were found to be a significant driver of distinct seasonal clusters in terms of vitamin ‘richness.’ Samples collected during the spring were particularly enriched in Ado- and Me-B12, while fall samples were enriched in DMB, CN-B12, and B3. 

These variations perform useful functions to meet seasonal fluctuations of needs to maximize ecosystem stability. In the temperate Canadian Northwest Atlantic context, seasonal fluctuations in vitamin B12 and B3 production provide the following ecological benefits:  

• Spring enrichment in active B12 forms (Ado- and Me-B12) supports rapid phytoplankton growth during blooms, while  
• Fall enrichment in remodeling precursors (DMB, CN-B12) and B3 sustains microbial recycling and ensures continued vitamin availability higher in the food chain. The fall nutrients in particular facilitate remodeling of pseudocobalamin into usable B12 and sustain microbial “recycler” communities. As the authors state: 

These seasonal differences may be underpinned by the increased importance of cobalamin remodeling and recycling during the fall.

This seasonal alternation prevents the collapse of the food web when new production slows, ensuring that both autotrophic (spring) and heterotrophic (fall) communities have access to the vitamins they need, maintaining ecosystem stability. 

Such complexity raises a profound question: How could blind evolutionary processes alone have orchestrated this biochemical symphony? 

More Season-Specific Correlations: Functional Synchronization 

In addition to vitamin correlations, the researchers uncovered other seasonal correlations, intersecting with variations in the carbon cycle. Quoting from their article: 

Correlations between particulate organic carbon and Chl a concentrations are season specific: no correlation is apparent in fall, but a strong positive correlation is seen in spring.

They found that during the spring months, vitamin concentrations correlated positively with particulate organic carbon and chlorophyll a. These correlations between chlorophyl and particulate organic carbon show that vitamins are tightly coupled to carbon fixation which are linked with the explosive growth of phytoplankton during spring, fixing carbon while simultaneously fueling the food web. In contrast, fall dynamics point to the decoupling of carbon fixation from vitamin inventories, highlighting the role of recycling during this season. 

These observations imply the existence of cascading processes of carbon fixation and vitamin availability, and may have various implications on ecosystem sustainability, as changes in carbon fixation would have a ripple effect on nutrition. Lack of proper stewardship of phytoplankton resources through marine pollution, for example, may reduce spring carbon fixation, leading to a potential decline in overall vitamin supply. Additionally, as the researchers noted, a warming trend could potentially impact nutrition, although this is an area of ongoing research. 

Why Evolutionary Explanations Falter 

When considering the cascading processes of vitamin absorption into the food chain, the simultaneous contribution to the carbon cycle and cyclic seasonal controls for marine stability demonstrated by this research, the improbability of evolutionary explanations becomes clear for various reasons: 

• The chain of vitamin production is an example of irreducible complexity: Producers, remodelers, consumers, and recycling pathways must be co-present for the cycle to be sustainable. For instance, if producers alone were active, vitamins would accumulate but not circulate efficiently. If consumers dominated without recycling, vitamins would be depleted. 
• The chain of vitamin production shows functional specificity: As previously discussed, the corrin ring of cobalamin requires over 30 enzymatic steps, making it difficult to explain how such a pathway could evolve gradually. 
• Human uptake: The fact that these vitamins are carried through trophic levels into bioavailable forms for humans suggests intentional provisioning. 

While evolutionary theory struggles to explain how such interdependent systems could arise gradually, intelligent design interprets these findings as evidence of purposeful arrangement, pointing to foresight embedded in creation. 

Provision through the Invisible Hand 

Bannon et al’s work give us a marvelous reminder that God can use the smallest things among us to confound the wise, with the smallest microbial exchanges sustaining the largest ecosystem of the ocean.  Evolutionary explanations falter under the weight of complexity and synchronization, while intelligent design offers a coherent framework.  

Romans 1:20 affirms that God’s invisible attributes are perceived in creation; with the invisible currencies of B-vitamins being yet another wondrous example. As Psalm 104:25 further reminds us, the sea teems with creatures great and small, sustained by divine provision. Recognizing this design calls us to marvel and to steward creation faithfully.

 

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Dr. Sarah Buckland-Reynolds is a Christian, Jamaican, Environmental Science researcher, and journal associate editor. She holds the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona with high commendation, and a postgraduate specialization in Geomatics at the Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. The quality of her research activity in Environmental Science has been recognized by various awards including the 2024 Editor’s Award from the American Meteorological Society for her reviewing service in the Weather, Climate and Society Journal, the 2023 L’Oreal/UNESCO Women in Science Caribbean Award, the 2023 ICETEX International Experts Exchange Award for study in Colombia. and with her PhD research in drought management also being shortlisted in the top 10 globally for the 2023 Allianz Climate Risk Award by Munich Re Insurance, Germany. Motivated by her faith in God and zeal to positively influence society, Dr. Buckland-Reynolds is also the founder and Principal Director of Chosen to G.L.O.W. Ministries, a Jamaican charitable organization which seeks to amplify the Christian voice in the public sphere and equip more youths to know how to defend their faith.