The majority of this research has focused on the base of marine food chains, phytoplankton, while substantially fewer studies have examined bacteria.
Bacteria mediate geochemical cycles that support the activity of the entire marine food chain.
An evaluation of the effect of UVR on bacteria will complement work that has been conducted on phytoplankton and significantly contribute to our understanding of the control UVR exerts on plankton community dynamics. V. natriegens is significantly more sensitive to UVB than P. stutzeri and higher photoproduct formation per UV dose was observed in V. natriegens . Gulf of Mexico waters have been used for studies of indigenous bacterioplankton populations. Diel patterns have been observed in RecA expression and levels of RecA have been found to be higher in surface waters than in deeper waters. Preliminary data suggests that solar radiation does cause photoproduct formation in surface water bacterial populations.