These negatively charged sugars react with positively charged ions of calcium, magnesium and sodium in the water, aligning themselves into microfibrils that aggregate into larger sheets, webs, disks and balls with the consistency and behavior of gel. Bacteria flock to these TEPs, which Alldredge said ranged from 28 to 5,000 particles per microliter of examined sea water. The TEPs, according to Alldredge, are sticky and act as a sort of biological glue, binding TEPs together or with other matter, such as microscopic fecal pellets from plankton, drifting strands of DNA and algal cells. Bacteria chow down upon this smorgasbord, employing enzymes like knife and fork to chemically break down material they can absorb, all the while belching out phosphates and ammonia as waste. This is just what the diatoms and other phytoplankton require.
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen.
Toss in phosphate, and you' ve got the perfect fertilizer. Long notes, too, that the gel matrix has recently been discovered to be rich in protein and colonized by bacteria. Azam posits other hypotheses for why plankton exude polysaccharides. The sticky sugars could serve as a kind of fly paper, snagging passing organic debris as bait for beneficial bacteria. Or the sugars may provide a protective coating from invasive viruses.