THE PHENOMENON OF THE MILKY SEA BASED ON THE

BACTERIA-ALGAE IMMOBILIZATION HYPOTHESIS

An enhanced photo of a gift-bearing Santa Claus illuminated by the glow of a small self-contained “Milky Sea”

May I please share with the community of scientists interested in the phenomenon of the “Milky
Sea” my hypothesis as to its occurrence in nature. My work with Vibrio fischeri, a close relative of
the marine luminous bacterium: Vibrio harveyi believed to be responsible for the Milky Sea showed
that when cells of Vibrio fischeri are immobilized in small paper-discs, one paper-disc remain
luminous in a test tube of 2.5% saline for about 2 days. If minimal nutrient and aeration are
provided to the medium then the luminosity of the paper-disc can be extended for up to 4 days. But
when the Vibrio fischeri cells are just suspended in the 2.5% saline as individual cells in test tubes
they remain luminous for only about two hours. Immobilization of the Vibrio fischeri cells rendered
them luminous far longer than if they were just suspended as single cells in saline. Immobilization in
paper-discs is simply done by immersing a 6.0 mm diameter Whatman filter paper in a luminous
suspension of Vibrio fischeri. The paper-disc absorbs the luminous suspension causing millions of
cells of Vibrio fischeri to be trapped in its intertwining cellulosic fibrils rendering the entire paper-
disc luminous as well. Once removed from the luminous suspension, the paper-disc acquires its own
bright luminosity due to the millions of Vibrio fischeri cells are trapped together in the small volume
of the paper-disc. The high density and close packing of the cells in the small volume of the paper-
discs probably tricks them into thinking that they are still a part of a larger population thereby
continuously promoting their “quorum sensing” based bioluminescence activity. Indeed, to
circumvent the restrictions imposed by a having a very large density of 109 cells/mL of the luminous
bacteria in seawater to keep them continuously luminous as proposed for Milk Sea, it is
hypothesized that luminosity in seawater of a much lower number of luminous bacteria is still
achievable if they can be packed close together in the pores, holes, crevices, edges and filaments of
a much larger algal cell most likely that of the glass cell-walled Diatoms. A Diatom is most likely
several thousand times bigger than Vibrio harveyi. A bloom of Diatoms must coincide with the
growth and subsequent attachment to their cell wall of an increasing number of Vibrio harveyi cells
upon cell to cell contact in the sea. Attachment and immobilization of the Vibrio harveyi cells in the
much larger algal cells is very much liked my luminous paper-disc’s immobilization of Vibrio fischeri
retaining its luminosity for several days thus supporting the observation that the “Milky Sea” of 1995
lasted for about 3 days. The attachment of the luminous bacteria to algae should even produce
brighter bioluminescence that should last for several days. The energetic blue light of
bioluminescence should keep photosynthesis on-going in the algae, which in turn should produce
foods like carbohydrates and oils and the essential gas: oxygen, which should even promote brighter
bioluminescence of the attached bacteria. This brief moment of a seemingly mutually beneficial
interaction between a luminous bacterium and an alga should explain the occurrence of a bright
“Milky Sea” lasting for several days. Furthermore, a “Milky sea” appears white as recorded by sailors
while bacterial bioluminescence is blue. In my years of working with plate cultures and suspensions
of Vibrio fischeri in saline observing them in absolute darkness for several hours not once did I
noticed that the light turned white as it always appeared bluish to me. It is explained that the
whitish appearance of the Milky Sea is due to the eye’s scotopic vision taking effect. Since scotopic
vision is colour blind then the blue colour of bioluminescence turns white. Perhaps the brightness of
a plate cultures and suspensions in the dark still allow photopic vision to be turned on in our eyes
permitting the discernment of the blue colour of bioluminescence. I believe that the switch from
photopic to scotopic vision happens only in absolute darkness and when the source of light happens
to be very dim. These two seemingly conflicting observations of the blue colour of bioluminescence
and the white colour of the Milky Sea can be reconciled again by the bacteria-algae immobilization
hypothesis. The blue light produced by the marine bacteria is transmitted through the glass cell wall
and oil globules inside the algae producing a white light that we see as the Milky Sea. Perhaps again,
it’s just like the whitish colloidal suspension of mayonnaise, which are oil globules dangling in the
colourless medium of vinegar.

An environment-friendly cloth bag illuminated by bioluminescence from within represents my

personal advocacy of using bioluminescence for a greener world

To promote my personal advocacy of using bacterial bioluminescence for a greener world, I will be
willing to cooperate with research institutions or green organizations in the preparation of hundreds
of thousands of these luminous paper-discs, perhaps even one million, to be released in the sea in
the middle of night to replicate a small “Milky Sea” that will lasts for several hours. These luminous
paper-discs should remain afloat and move with the current as they light up a small part of the sea.
They might even attract and be eaten by nearby fishes, which will surely bring these luminous
microbes into the intestines and in that niche they could most likely function as probiotics for the
well-being of the fishes. The marine luminous bacteria are inherently one of the major components
of the saltwater fishes’ intestinal microflora.

BIOLUMIN: BLUE LIGHT GREEN WORLD