The ocean biota contains a vast reservoir of genomic diversity¹. Here we present the sequence and preliminary characterization of a protein that is a cadmium-containing carbonic anhydrase from the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii. The existence of a cadmium enzyme in marine phytoplankton may indicate that there is a unique selection pressure for metalloenzymes in the marine environment², and our discovery provides a long-awaited explanation for the nutrient-like behaviour of cadmium in the oceans³.

1. Biosystems Research Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551-0969, USA
2. Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
3. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada
4. ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, New Jersey 08801, USA
5. Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA

Correspondence to: Mak A. Saito² Email: mak@whoi.edu

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