Washington, Jan. 4 -- Researchers at Oregon State University identified vitamin B1 generated by bacteria in rivers, which may provide hope to vitamin-deficient salmon populations.

The results were reported in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

The study in California's Central Valley, according to the authors, is a fresh component of an important physiological puzzle involving Chinook salmon, a keystone species with major cultural, ecological, and economic significance in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

Christopher Suffridge, senior research associate in the Department of Microbiology in the OSU College of Science, and PhD student Kelly Shannon investigated thiamine concentrations and microbial populations in Sacrame...