1
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The triple oxygen isotope composition of marine sulfate and 130 million years of microbial control. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2202018119. [PMID: 35881806 PMCID: PMC9351482 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202018119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The triple oxygen isotope composition (Δ'17O) of sulfate minerals is widely used to constrain ancient atmospheric pO2/pCO2 and rates of gross primary production. The utility of this tool is based on a model that sulfate oxygen carries an isotope fingerprint of tropospheric O2 incorporated through oxidative weathering of reduced sulfur minerals, particularly pyrite. Work to date has targeted Proterozoic environments (2.5 billion to 0.542 billion years ago) where large isotope anomalies persist; younger timescale records, which would ground ancient environmental interpretation in what we know from modern Earth, are lacking. Here we present a high-resolution record of the [Formula: see text]O and Δ'17O in marine sulfate for the last 130 million years of Earth history. This record carries a Δ'17O close to 0o, suggesting that the marine sulfate reservoir is under strict control by biogeochemical cycling (namely, microbial sulfate reduction), as these reactions follow mass-dependent fractionation. We identify no discernible contribution from atmospheric oxygen on this timescale. We interpret a steady fractional contribution of microbial sulfur cycling (terrestrial and marine) over the last 100 million years, even as global weathering rates are thought to vary considerably.
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2
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Pellerin A, Antler G, Marietou A, Turchyn AV, Jørgensen BB. The effect of temperature on sulfur and oxygen isotope fractionation by sulfate reducing bacteria (Desulfococcus multivorans). FEMS Microbiol Lett 2020; 367:5817845. [PMID: 32267916 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnaa061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Temperature influences microbiological growth and catabolic rates. Between 15 and 35 °C the growth rate and cell specific sulfate reduction rate of the sulfate reducing bacterium Desulfococcus multivorans increased with temperature. Sulfur isotope fractionation during sulfate reduction decreased with increasing temperature from 27.2 ‰ at 15 °C to 18.8 ‰ at 35 °C which is consistent with a decreasing reversibility of the metabolic pathway as the catabolic rate increases. Oxygen isotope fractionation, in contrast, decreased between 15 and 25 °C and then increased again between 25 and 35 °C, suggesting increasing reversibility in the first steps of the sulfate reducing pathway at higher temperatures. This points to a decoupling in the reversibility of sulfate reduction between the steps from the uptake of sulfate into the cell to the formation of sulfite, relative to the whole pathway from sulfate to sulfide. This observation is consistent with observations of increasing sulfur isotope fractionation when sulfate reducing bacteria are living near their upper temperature limit. The oxygen isotope decoupling may be a first signal of changing physiology as the bacteria cope with higher temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Pellerin
- Center for Geomicrobiology, Ny Munkegade 116, Aarhus C 8000, Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Denmark.,Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P. O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Gilad Antler
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P. O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.,The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences of Eilat, PO Box 469, Eilat 88103, Israel
| | - Angeliki Marietou
- Center for Geomicrobiology, Ny Munkegade 116, Aarhus C 8000, Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Denmark
| | - Alexandra V Turchyn
- Cambridge University, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EQ, Departement of Earth Sciences, Cambridge, UK
| | - Bo Barker Jørgensen
- Center for Geomicrobiology, Ny Munkegade 116, Aarhus C 8000, Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Denmark
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3
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Bertran E, Waldeck A, Wing BA, Halevy I, Leavitt WD, Bradley AS, Johnston DT. Oxygen isotope effects during microbial sulfate reduction: applications to sediment cell abundances. ISME JOURNAL 2020; 14:1508-1519. [PMID: 32152390 PMCID: PMC7242377 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-020-0618-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The majority of anaerobic biogeochemical cycling occurs within marine sediments. To understand these processes, quantifying the distribution of active cells and gross metabolic activity is essential. We present an isotope model rooted in thermodynamics to draw quantitative links between cell-specific sulfate reduction rates and active sedimentary cell abundances. This model is calibrated using data from a series of continuous culture experiments with two strains of sulfate reducing bacteria (freshwater bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris strain Hildenborough, and marine bacterium Desulfovibrio alaskensis strain G-20) grown on lactate across a range of metabolic rates and ambient sulfate concentrations. We use a combination of experimental sulfate oxygen isotope data and nonlinear regression fitting tools to solve for unknown kinetic, step-specific oxygen isotope effects. This approach enables identification of key isotopic reactions within the metabolic pathway, and defines a new, calibrated framework for understanding oxygen isotope variability in sulfate. This approach is then combined with porewater sulfate/sulfide concentration data and diagenetic modeling to reproduce measured 18O/16O in porewater sulfate. From here, we infer cell-specific sulfate reduction rates and predict abundance of active cells of sulfate reducing bacteria, the result of which is consistent with direct biological measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Bertran
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - A Waldeck
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - B A Wing
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - I Halevy
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - W D Leavitt
- Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.,Department of Biological Science, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - A S Bradley
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - D T Johnston
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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4
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Killingsworth BA, Sansjofre P, Philippot P, Cartigny P, Thomazo C, Lalonde SV. Constraining the rise of oxygen with oxygen isotopes. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4924. [PMID: 31664027 PMCID: PMC6820740 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12883-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
After permanent atmospheric oxygenation, anomalous sulfur isotope compositions were lost from sedimentary rocks, demonstrating that atmospheric chemistry ceded its control of Earth’s surficial sulfur cycle to weathering. However, mixed signals of anoxia and oxygenation in the sulfur isotope record between 2.5 to 2.3 billion years (Ga) ago require independent clarification, for example via oxygen isotopes in sulfate. Here we show <2.31 Ga sedimentary barium sulfates (barites) from the Turee Creek Basin, W. Australia with positive sulfur isotope anomalies of ∆33S up to + 1.55‰ and low δ18O down to −19.5‰. The unequivocal origin of this combination of signals is sulfide oxidation in meteoric water. Geochemical and sedimentary evidence suggests that these S-isotope anomalies were transferred from the paleo-continent under an oxygenated atmosphere. Our findings indicate that incipient oxidative continental weathering, ca. 2.8–2.5 Ga or earlier, may be diagnosed with such a combination of low δ18O and high ∆33S in sulfates. The loss of anomalous sulfur isotope compositions from sedimentary rocks has been considered a symptom of permanent atmospheric oxygenation. Here the authors show sulfur and oxygen isotope evidence from < 2.31 Ga sedimentary barium sulphates (barites) from the Turee Creek Basin, W. Australia, demonstrating the influence of local non-atmospheric processes on anomalous sulfur isotope signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- B A Killingsworth
- CNRS-UMR6538 Laboratoire Géosciences Océan, European Institute for Marine Studies, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, 29280, Plouzané, France. .,Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne-Paris Cité, UMR 7154, CNRS-Université Paris Diderot, 75005, Paris Cedex 05, France.
| | - P Sansjofre
- CNRS-UMR6538 Laboratoire Géosciences Océan, European Institute for Marine Studies, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, 29280, Plouzané, France.,Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Université, UMR CNRS 7590, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, 75005, Paris, France
| | - P Philippot
- Géosciences Montpellier, CNRS-UMR 5243, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.,Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne-Paris Cité, UMR 7154, CNRS-Université Paris Diderot, 75005, Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - P Cartigny
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne-Paris Cité, UMR 7154, CNRS-Université Paris Diderot, 75005, Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - C Thomazo
- UMR CNRS/uB 6282 Laboratoire Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Bd Gabriel, 21000, Dijon, France
| | - S V Lalonde
- CNRS-UMR6538 Laboratoire Géosciences Océan, European Institute for Marine Studies, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, 29280, Plouzané, France
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5
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Leavitt WD, Venceslau SS, Waldbauer J, Smith DA, Pereira IAC, Bradley AS. Proteomic and Isotopic Response of Desulfovibrio vulgaris to DsrC Perturbation. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:658. [PMID: 31031715 PMCID: PMC6470260 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2018] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Dissimilatory sulfate reduction is a microbial energy metabolism that can produce sulfur isotopic fractionations over a large range in magnitude. Calibrating sulfur isotopic fractionation in laboratory experiments allows for better interpretations of sulfur isotopes in modern sediments and ancient sedimentary rocks. The proteins involved in sulfate reduction are expressed in response to environmental conditions, and are collectively responsible for the net isotopic fractionation between sulfate and sulfide. We examined the role of DsrC, a key component of the sulfate reduction pathway, by comparing wildtype Desulfovibrio vulgaris DSM 644T to strain IPFG07, a mutant deficient in DsrC production. Both strains were cultivated in parallel chemostat reactors at identical turnover times and cell specific sulfate reduction rates. Under these conditions, sulfur isotopic fractionations between sulfate and sulfide of 17.3 ± 0.5‰ or 12.6 ± 0.5‰ were recorded for the wildtype or mutant, respectively. The enzymatic machinery that produced these different fractionations was revealed by quantitative proteomics. Results are consistent with a cellular-level response that throttled the supply of electrons and sulfur supply through the sulfate reduction pathway more in the mutant relative to the wildtype, independent of rate. We conclude that the smaller fractionation observed in the mutant strain is a consequence of sulfate reduction that proceeded at a rate that consumed a greater proportion of the strains overall capacity for sulfate reduction. These observations have consequences for models of sulfate reducer metabolism and how it yields different isotopic fractionations, notably, the role of DsrC in central energy metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D. Leavitt
- Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - Sofia S. Venceslau
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Jacob Waldbauer
- Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Derek A. Smith
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Inês A. Cardoso Pereira
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Alexander S. Bradley
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
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6
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Sim MS, Ogata H, Lubitz W, Adkins JF, Sessions AL, Orphan VJ, McGlynn SE. Role of APS reductase in biogeochemical sulfur isotope fractionation. Nat Commun 2019; 10:44. [PMID: 30626879 PMCID: PMC6327049 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07878-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Sulfur isotope fractionation resulting from microbial sulfate reduction (MSR) provides some of the earliest evidence of life, and secular variations in fractionation values reflect changes in biogeochemical cycles. Here we determine the sulfur isotope effect of the enzyme adenosine phosphosulfate reductase (Apr), which is present in all known organisms conducting MSR and catalyzes the first reductive step in the pathway and reinterpret the sedimentary sulfur isotope record over geological time. Small fractionations may be attributed to low sulfate concentrations and/or high respiration rates, whereas fractionations greater than that of Apr require a low chemical potential at that metabolic step. Since Archean sediments lack fractionation exceeding the Apr value of 20‰, they are indicative of sulfate reducers having had access to ample electron donors to drive their metabolisms. Large fractionations in post-Archean sediments are congruent with a decline of favorable electron donors as aerobic and other high potential metabolic competitors evolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Sub Sim
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, South Korea. .,Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
| | - Hideaki Ogata
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Stiftstrasse 34-36, D-45470, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.,Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0819, Japan
| | - Wolfgang Lubitz
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Stiftstrasse 34-36, D-45470, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
| | - Jess F Adkins
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Alex L Sessions
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Victoria J Orphan
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Shawn E McGlynn
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA. .,Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.
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7
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Engelbrektson AL, Cheng Y, Hubbard CG, Jin YT, Arora B, Tom LM, Hu P, Grauel AL, Conrad ME, Andersen GL, Ajo-Franklin JB, Coates JD. Attenuating Sulfidogenesis in a Soured Continuous Flow Column System With Perchlorate Treatment. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:1575. [PMID: 30140256 PMCID: PMC6094985 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrogen sulfide production by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) is the primary cause of oil reservoir souring. Amending environments with chlorate or perchlorate [collectively denoted (per)chlorate] represents an emerging technology to prevent the onset of souring. Recent studies with perchlorate reducing bacteria (PRB) monocultures demonstrated that they have the innate capability to enzymatically oxidize sulfide, thus PRB may offer an effective means of reversing souring. (Per)chlorate may be effective by (i) direct toxicity to SRB; (ii) competitive exclusion of SRB by PRB; or (iii) reversal of souring through re-oxidation of sulfide by PRB. To determine if (per)chlorate could sweeten a soured column system and assign a quantitative value to each of the mechanisms we treated columns flooded with San Francisco bay water with temporally decreasing amounts (50, 25, and 12.5 mM) of (per)chlorate. Geochemistry and the microbial community structure were monitored and a reactive transport model was developed, Results were compared to columns treated with nitrate or untreated. Souring was reversed by all treatments at 50 mM but nitrate-treated columns began to re-sour when treatment concentrations decreased (25 mM). Re-souring was only observed in (per)chlorate-treated columns when concentrations were decreased to 12.5 mM and the extent of re-souring was less than the control columns. Microbial community analyses indicated treatment-specific community shifts. Nitrate treatment resulted in a distinct community enriched in genera known to perform sulfur cycling metabolisms and genera capable of nitrate reduction. (Per)chlorate treatment enriched for (per)chlorate reducing bacteria. (Per)chlorate treatments only enriched for sulfate reducing organisms when treatment levels were decreased. A reactive transport model of perchlorate treatment was developed and a baseline case simulation demonstrated that the model provided a good fit to the effluent geochemical data. Subsequent simulations teased out the relative role that each of the three perchlorate inhibition mechanisms played during different phases of the experiment. These results indicate that perchlorate addition is an effective strategy for both souring prevention and souring reversal. It provides insight into which organisms are involved, and illuminates the interactive effects of the inhibition mechanisms, further highlighting the versatility of perchlorate as a sweetening agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna L Engelbrektson
- Energy Biosciences Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.,Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Yiwei Cheng
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Christopher G Hubbard
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Yong T Jin
- Energy Biosciences Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.,Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Bhavna Arora
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Lauren M Tom
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Ping Hu
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Anna-Lena Grauel
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Mark E Conrad
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Gary L Andersen
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | | | - John D Coates
- Energy Biosciences Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.,Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Berkeley, CA, United States
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8
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Blonder B, Boyko V, Turchyn AV, Antler G, Sinichkin U, Knossow N, Klein R, Kamyshny A. Impact of Aeolian Dry Deposition of Reactive Iron Minerals on Sulfur Cycling in Sediments of the Gulf of Aqaba. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:1131. [PMID: 28676799 PMCID: PMC5476737 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2017] [Accepted: 06/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The Gulf of Aqaba is an oligotrophic marine system with oxygen-rich water column and organic carbon-poor sediments (≤0.6% at sites that are not influenced by anthropogenic impact). Aeolian dust deposition from the Arabian, Sinai, and Sahara Deserts is an important source of sediment, especially at the deep-water sites of the Gulf, which are less affected by sediment transport from the Arava Desert during seasonal flash floods. Microbial sulfate reduction in sediments is inferred from the presence of pyrite (although at relatively low concentrations), the presence of sulfide oxidation intermediates, and by the sulfur isotopic composition of sulfate and solid-phase sulfides. Saharan dust is characterized by high amounts of iron minerals such as hematite and goethite. We demonstrated, that the resulting high sedimentary content of reactive iron(III) (hydr)oxides, originating from this aeolian dry deposition of desert dust, leads to fast re-oxidation of hydrogen sulfide produced during microbial sulfate reduction and limits preservation of reduced sulfur in the form of pyrite. We conclude that at these sites the sedimentary sulfur cycle may be defined as cryptic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barak Blonder
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevBeer Sheva, Israel
| | - Valeria Boyko
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevBeer Sheva, Israel
| | - Alexandra V Turchyn
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of CambridgeCambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Gilad Antler
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of CambridgeCambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Uriel Sinichkin
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevBeer Sheva, Israel
| | - Nadav Knossow
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevBeer Sheva, Israel
| | - Rotem Klein
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevBeer Sheva, Israel
| | - Alexey Kamyshny
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevBeer Sheva, Israel
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9
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Zaarur S, Wang DT, Ono S, Bosak T. Influence of Phosphorus and Cell Geometry on the Fractionation of Sulfur Isotopes by Several Species of Desulfovibrio during Microbial Sulfate Reduction. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:890. [PMID: 28611734 PMCID: PMC5447228 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2017] [Accepted: 05/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated the influence of organic substrates and phosphate concentration on the rates of dissimilatory microbial sulfate reduction and the 34S/32S isotopic fractionation produced by several Desulfovibrio species. Our experiments corroborate the previously reported species-specific correlation between sulfur isotope fractionation and cell-specific sulfate reduction rates. We also identify cell size as a key factor that contributes to the species-effect of this correlation. Phosphate limitation results in larger cells and contributes to a small decrease in sulfur isotope fractionation concomitant with an apparent increase in cell-specific sulfate reduction rates. Sulfur isotope fractionation in phosphate-limited cultures asymptotically approaches a lower limit of approximately 5‰ as cell-specific sulfate reduction rates increase to >100 fmol cell−1 day−1. These experimental results test models that link the reversibilities of enzymatic steps in dissimilatory sulfate reduction to sulfur isotope fractionation and show that these models can provide consistent predictions across large variations in physiological states experienced by sulfate reducing bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shikma Zaarur
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA, United States
| | - David T Wang
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA, United States
| | - Shuhei Ono
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA, United States
| | - Tanja Bosak
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA, United States
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10
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Guo H, Zhou Y, Jia Y, Tang X, Li X, Shen M, Lu H, Han S, Wei C, Norra S, Zhang F. Sulfur Cycling-Related Biogeochemical Processes of Arsenic Mobilization in the Western Hetao Basin, China: Evidence from Multiple Isotope Approaches. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2016; 50:12650-12659. [PMID: 27797497 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b03460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The role of sulfur cycling in arsenic behavior under reducing conditions is not well-understood in previous investigations. This study provides observations of sulfur and oxygen isotope fractionation in sulfate and evaluation of sulfur cycling-related biogeochemical processes controlling dissolved arsenic groundwater concentrations using multiple isotope approaches. As a typical basin hosting high arsenic groundwater, the western Hetao basin was selected as the study area. Results showed that, along the groundwater flow paths, groundwater δ34SSO4, δ18OSO4, and δ13CDOC increased with increases in arsenic, dissolved iron, hydrogen sulfide and ammonium concentrations, while δ13CDIC decreased with decreasing Eh and sulfate/chloride. Bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) was responsible for many of these observed changes. The δ34SSO4 indicated that dissolved sulfate was mainly sourced from oxidative weathering of sulfides in upgradient alluvial fans. The high oxygen-sulfur isotope fractionation ratio (0.60) may result from both slow sulfate reduction rates and bacterial disproportionation of sulfur intermediates (BDSI). Data indicate that both the sulfide produced by BSR and the overall BDSI reduce arsenic-bearing iron(III) oxyhydroxides, leading to the release of arsenic into groundwater. These results suggest that sulfur-related biogeochemical processes are important in mobilizing arsenic in aquifer systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaming Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) , Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yinzhu Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) , Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yongfeng Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) , Beijing 100083, China
| | - Xiaohui Tang
- Institute of Applied Geosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology , Karlsruhe 76131, Germany
| | - Xiaofeng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) , Beijing 100083, China
| | - Mengmeng Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) , Beijing 100083, China
| | - Hai Lu
- The National Institute of Metrology , Beijing 100013, P.R. China
| | - Shuangbao Han
- Center for Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, China Geological Survey , Baoding 071051, Hebei China
| | - Chao Wei
- The National Institute of Metrology , Beijing 100013, P.R. China
| | - Stefan Norra
- Institute of Applied Geosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology , Karlsruhe 76131, Germany
| | - Fucun Zhang
- Center for Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, China Geological Survey , Baoding 071051, Hebei China
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11
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Wehrmann LM, Titschack J, Böttcher ME, Ferdelman TG. Linking sedimentary sulfur and iron biogeochemistry to growth patterns of a cold-water coral mound in the Porcupine Basin, S.W. Ireland (IODP Expedition 307). GEOBIOLOGY 2015; 13:424-442. [PMID: 26059346 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2014] [Accepted: 05/09/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Challenger Mound, a 150-m-high cold-water coral mound on the eastern flank of the Porcupine Seabight off SW Ireland, was drilled during Expedition 307 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). Retrieved cores offer unique insight into an archive of Quaternary paleo-environmental change, long-term coral mound development, and the diagenetic alteration of these carbonate fabrics over time. To characterize biogeochemical carbon-iron-sulfur transformations in the mound sediments, the contents of dithionite- and HCl-extractable iron phases, iron monosulfide and pyrite, and acid-extractable calcium, magnesium, manganese, and strontium were determined. Additionally, the stable isotopic compositions of pore-water sulfate and solid-phase reduced sulfur compounds were analyzed. Sulfate penetrated through the mound sequence and into the underlying Miocene sediments, where a sulfate-methane transition zone was identified. Small sulfate concentration decreases (<7 mM) within the top 40 m of the mound suggested slow net rates of present-day organoclastic sulfate reduction. Increasing δ(34)S-sulfate values due to microbial sulfate reduction mirrored the decrease in sulfate concentrations. This process was accompanied by oxygen isotope exchange with water that was indicated by increasing δ(18)O-sulfate values, reaching equilibrium with pore-water at depth. Below 50 mbsf, sediment intervals with strong (34)S-enriched imprints on chromium-reducible sulfur (pyrite S), high degree-of-pyritization values, and semi-lithified diagenetic carbonate-rich layers characterized by poor coral preservation, were observed. These layers provided evidence for the occurrence of enhanced microbial sulfate-reducing activity in the mound in the past during periods of rapid mound aggradation and subsequent intervals of non-deposition or erosion when geochemical fronts remained stationary. During these periods, especially during the Early Pleistocene, elevated sulfate reduction rates facilitated the consumption of reducible iron oxide phases, coral dissolution, and the subsequent formation of carbonate cements.
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Affiliation(s)
- L M Wehrmann
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - J Titschack
- MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- Marine Geology Division, Senckenberg am Meer, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - M E Böttcher
- Isotope Biogeochemistry Group, Leibniz-Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Warnemünde, Germany
| | - T G Ferdelman
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
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12
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Avrahamov N, Antler G, Yechieli Y, Gavrieli I, Joye SB, Saxton M, Turchyn AV, Sivan O. Anaerobic oxidation of methane by sulfate in hypersaline groundwater of the Dead Sea aquifer. GEOBIOLOGY 2014; 12:511-528. [PMID: 25039851 PMCID: PMC4262068 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Accepted: 06/16/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Geochemical and microbial evidence points to anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) likely coupled with bacterial sulfate reduction in the hypersaline groundwater of the Dead Sea (DS) alluvial aquifer. Groundwater was sampled from nine boreholes drilled along the Arugot alluvial fan next to the DS. The groundwater samples were highly saline (up to 6300 mm chlorine), anoxic, and contained methane. A mass balance calculation demonstrates that the very low δ(13) CDIC in this groundwater is due to anaerobic methane oxidation. Sulfate depletion coincident with isotope enrichment of sulfur and oxygen isotopes in the sulfate suggests that sulfate reduction is associated with this AOM. DNA extraction and 16S amplicon sequencing were used to explore the microbial community present and were found to be microbial composition indicative of bacterial sulfate reducers associated with anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) driving AOM. The net sulfate reduction seems to be primarily controlled by the salinity and the available methane and is substantially lower as salinity increases (2.5 mm sulfate removal at 3000 mm chlorine but only 0.5 mm sulfate removal at 6300 mm chlorine). Low overall sulfur isotope fractionation observed ((34) ε = 17 ± 3.5‰) hints at high rates of sulfate reduction, as has been previously suggested for sulfate reduction coupled with methane oxidation. The new results demonstrate the presence of sulfate-driven AOM in terrestrial hypersaline systems and expand our understanding of how microbial life is sustained under the challenging conditions of an extremely hypersaline environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Avrahamov
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
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13
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Iron oxides stimulate sulfate-driven anaerobic methane oxidation in seeps. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:E4139-47. [PMID: 25246590 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1412269111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Seep sediments are dominated by intensive microbial sulfate reduction coupled to the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). Through geochemical measurements of incubation experiments with methane seep sediments collected from Hydrate Ridge, we provide insight into the role of iron oxides in sulfate-driven AOM. Seep sediments incubated with (13)C-labeled methane showed co-occurring sulfate reduction, AOM, and methanogenesis. The isotope fractionation factors for sulfur and oxygen isotopes in sulfate were about 40‰ and 22‰, respectively, reinforcing the difference between microbial sulfate reduction in methane seeps versus other sedimentary environments (for example, sulfur isotope fractionation above 60‰ in sulfate reduction coupled to organic carbon oxidation or in diffusive sedimentary sulfate-methane transition zone). The addition of hematite to these microcosm experiments resulted in significant microbial iron reduction as well as enhancing sulfate-driven AOM. The magnitude of the isotope fractionation of sulfur and oxygen isotopes in sulfate from these incubations was lowered by about 50%, indicating the involvement of iron oxides during sulfate reduction in methane seeps. The similar relative change between the oxygen versus sulfur isotopes of sulfate in all experiments (with and without hematite addition) suggests that oxidized forms of iron, naturally present in the sediment incubations, were involved in sulfate reduction, with hematite addition increasing the sulfate recycling or the activity of sulfur-cycling microorganisms by about 40%. These results highlight a role for natural iron oxides during bacterial sulfate reduction in methane seeps not only as nutrient but also as stimulator of sulfur recycling.
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14
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Hubbard CG, Cheng Y, Engelbrekston A, Druhan JL, Li L, Ajo-Franklin JB, Coates JD, Conrad ME. Isotopic insights into microbial sulfur cycling in oil reservoirs. Front Microbiol 2014; 5:480. [PMID: 25285094 PMCID: PMC4168720 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2014] [Accepted: 08/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial sulfate reduction in oil reservoirs (biosouring) is often associated with secondary oil production where seawater containing high sulfate concentrations (~28 mM) is injected into a reservoir to maintain pressure and displace oil. The sulfide generated from biosouring can cause corrosion of infrastructure, health exposure risks, and higher production costs. Isotope monitoring is a promising approach for understanding microbial sulfur cycling in reservoirs, enabling early detection of biosouring, and understanding the impact of souring. Microbial sulfate reduction is known to result in large shifts in the sulfur and oxygen isotope compositions of the residual sulfate, which can be distinguished from other processes that may be occurring in oil reservoirs, such as precipitation of sulfate and sulfide minerals. Key to the success of this method is using the appropriate isotopic fractionation factors for the conditions and processes being monitored. For a set of batch incubation experiments using a mixed microbial culture with crude oil as the electron donor, we measured a sulfur fractionation factor for sulfate reduction of −30‰. We have incorporated this result into a simplified 1D reservoir reactive transport model to highlight how isotopes can help discriminate between biotic and abiotic processes affecting sulfate and sulfide concentrations. Modeling results suggest that monitoring sulfate isotopes can provide an early indication of souring for reservoirs with reactive iron minerals that can remove the produced sulfide, especially when sulfate reduction occurs in the mixing zone between formation waters (FW) containing elevated concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and injection water (IW) containing elevated sulfate. In addition, we examine the role of reservoir thermal, geochemical, hydrological, operational and microbiological conditions in determining microbial souring dynamics and hence the anticipated isotopic signatures.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yiwei Cheng
- Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Anna Engelbrekston
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California at Berkeley Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer L Druhan
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Li Li
- Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA, USA
| | | | - John D Coates
- Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA, USA ; Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California at Berkeley Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Mark E Conrad
- Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA, USA
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Rubin-Blum M, Antler G, Turchyn AV, Tsadok R, Goodman-Tchernov BN, Shemesh E, Austin JA, Coleman DF, Makovsky Y, Sivan O, Tchernov D. Hydrocarbon-related microbial processes in the deep sediments of the Eastern Mediterranean Levantine Basin. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2013; 87:780-96. [DOI: 10.1111/1574-6941.12264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2013] [Revised: 11/08/2013] [Accepted: 11/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Maxim Rubin-Blum
- The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences; University of Haifa; Haifa Israel
| | - Gilad Antler
- Department of Earth Sciences; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
| | | | - Rami Tsadok
- The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences; University of Haifa; Haifa Israel
| | | | - Eli Shemesh
- The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences; University of Haifa; Haifa Israel
| | - James A. Austin
- Institute for Geophysics; Jackson School of Geosciences; University of Texas at Austin; Austin TX USA
| | - Dwight F. Coleman
- Graduate School of Oceanography; The University of Rhode Island; Narragansett RI USA
| | - Yizhaq Makovsky
- The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences; University of Haifa; Haifa Israel
| | - Orit Sivan
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Beer-Sheva Israel
| | - Dan Tchernov
- The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences; University of Haifa; Haifa Israel
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