Negligible Quantities of Particulate Low-Temperature Pyrogenic Carbon Reach the Atlantic Ocean via the Amazon River

Particulate pyrogenic carbon (PyC) transported by rivers and aerosols, and deposited in marine sediments, is an important part of the carbon cycle. The chemical composition of PyC is temperature dependent and levoglucosan is a source-specific burning marker used to trace low-temperature PyC. Levoglucosan associated to particulate material has been shown to be preserved during riverine transport and marine deposition in high- and mid-latitudes, but it is yet unknown if this is also the case for (sub)tropical areas, where 90% of global PyC is produced. Here, we investigate transport and deposition of levoglucosan in suspended and riverbed sediments from the Amazon River system and adjacent marine deposition areas. We show that the Amazon River exports negligible amounts of levoglucosan and that concentrations in sediments from the main Amazon tributaries are not related to long-term mean catchment-wide fire activity. Levoglucosan concentrations in marine sediments offshore the Amazon Estuary are positively correlated to total organic content regardless of terrestrial or marine origin, supporting the notion that association of suspended or dissolved PyC to biogenic particles is critical in the preservation of PyC. We estimate that 0.5-10 × 10⁶ g yr^-1 of levoglucosan is exported by the Amazon River. This represents only 0.5-10 ppm of the total exported PyC and thereby an insignificant fraction, indicating that riverine derived levoglucosan and low-temperature PyC in the tropics are almost completely degraded before deposition. Hence, we suggest caution in using levoglucosan as tracer for past fire activity in tropical settings near rivers.

A progressively wetter climate in southern East Africa over the past 1.3 million years

African climate is generally considered to have evolved towards progressively drier conditions over the past few million years, with increased variability as glacial-interglacial change intensified worldwide. Palaeoclimate records derived mainly from northern Africa exhibit a 100,000-year (eccentricity) cycle overprinted on a pronounced 20,000-year (precession) beat, driven by orbital forcing of summer insolation, global ice volume and long-lived atmospheric greenhouse gases. Here we present a 1.3-million-year-long climate history from the Lake Malawi basin (10°-14° S in eastern Africa), which displays strong 100,000-year (eccentricity) cycles of temperature and rainfall following the Mid-Pleistocene Transition around 900,000 years ago. Interglacial periods were relatively warm and moist, while ice ages were cool and dry. The Malawi record shows limited evidence for precessional variability, which we attribute to the opposing effects of austral summer insolation and the temporal/spatial pattern of sea surface temperature in the Indian Ocean. The temperature history of the Malawi basin, at least for the past 500,000 years, strongly resembles past changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and terrigenous dust flux in the tropical Pacific Ocean, but not in global ice volume. Climate in this sector of eastern Africa (unlike northern Africa) evolved from a predominantly arid environment with high-frequency variability to generally wetter conditions with more prolonged wet and dry intervals.

Comparison of intact polar lipid with microbial community composition of vent deposits of the Rainbow and Lucky Strike hydrothermal fields

The intact polar lipid (IPL) composition of twelve hydrothermal vent deposits from the Rainbow (RHF) and Lucky Strike hydrothermal fields (LSHF) has been investigated in order to assess its utility as a proxy for microbial community composition associated with deep-sea hydrothermal locations. Gene-based culture-independent surveys of the microbial populations of the same vent deposits have shown that microbial populations are different in the two locations and appear to be controlled by the geochemical and geological processes that drive hydrothermal circulation. Large differences in the IPL composition between these two sites are evident. In the ultramafic-hosted RHF, mainly archaeal-IPLs were identified, including those known to be produced by hyperthermophilic Euryarchaeota. More specifically, polyglycosyl derivatives of archaeol and macrocyclic archaeol indicate the presence of hyperthermophilic methanogenic archaea in the vent deposits, which are related to members of the Methanocaldococcaceae or Methanococcaceae. In contrast, bacterial IPLs dominate IPL distributions from LSHF, suggesting that bacteria are more predominant at LSHF than at RHF. Bacterial Diacyl glycerol (DAG) IPLs containing phosphocholine, phosphoethanolamine or phosphoglycerol head groups were identified at both vent fields. In some vent deposits from LSHF ornithine lipids and IPLs containing phosphoaminopentanetetrol head groups were also observed. By comparison with previously characterized bacterial communities at the sites, it is likely the DAG-IPLs observed derive from Epsilon- and Gammaproteobacteria. Variation in the relative amounts of archaeal versus bacterial IPLs appears to indicate differences in the microbial community between vent sites. Overall, IPL distributions appear to be consistent with gene-based surveys.

Diazotrophic microbial community of coastal microbial mats of the southern North Sea

The diazotrophic community in microbial mats growing along the shore of the North Sea barrier island Schiermonnikoog (The Netherlands) was studied using microscopy, lipid biomarkers, stable carbon (δ(13) C(TOC) ) and nitrogen (δ(15) N) isotopes as well as by constructing and analyzing 16S rRNA gene libraries. Depending on their position on the littoral gradient, two types of mats were identified, which showed distinct differences regarding the structure, development and composition of the microbial community. Intertidal microbial mats showed a low species diversity with filamentous non-heterocystous Cyanobacteria providing the main mat structure. In contrast, supratidal microbial mats showed a distinct vertical zonation and a high degree of species diversity. Morphotypes of non-heterocystous Cyanobacteria were recognized as the main structural component in these mats. In addition, unicellular Cyanobacteria were frequently observed, whereas filamentous heterocystous Cyanobacteria occurred only in low numbers. Besides the apparent visual dominance of cyanobacterial morphotpyes, 16S rRNA gene libraries indicated that both microbial mat types also included members of the Proteobacteria and the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides group as well as diatoms. Bulk δ(15) N isotopes of the microbial mats ranged from +6.1‰ in the lower intertidal to -1.2‰ in the supratidal zone, indicating a shift from predominantly nitrate utilization to nitrogen fixation along the littoral gradient. This conclusion was supported by the presence of heterocyst glycolipids, representing lipid biomarkers for nitrogen-fixing heterocystous Cyanobacteria, in supratidal but not in intertidal microbial mats. The availability of combined nitrogen species might thus be a key factor in controlling and regulating the distribution of the diazotrophic microbial community of Schiermonnikoog.

Ongoing buildup of refractory organic carbon in boreal soils during the Holocene

Radiocarbon ages of vascular plant wax-derived n-alkanes preserved in well-dated Holocene sediments in an anoxic fjord (Saanich Inlet, Canada) were found to be not only substantially older than the depositional age but increasingly so during the Holocene. Assuming that n-alkanes serve as a proxy for recalcitrant terrigenous organic matter, this indicates that the accumulation of refractory organic carbon in soils that developed after the deglaciation of the American Pacific Northwest is ongoing and may still be far from equilibrium with mineralization and erosion rates.

Massive expansion of marine archaea during a mid-Cretaceous oceanic anoxic event

Biogeochemical and stable carbon isotopic analysis of black-shale sequences deposited during an Albian oceanic anoxic event (approximately 112 million years ago) indicate that up to 80 weight percent of sedimentary organic carbon is derived from marine, nonthermophilic archaea. The carbon-13 content of archaeal molecular fossils indicates that these archaea were living chemoautotrophically. Their massive expansion may have been a response to the strong stratification of the ocean during this anoxic event. Indeed, the sedimentary record of archaeal membrane lipids suggests that this anoxic event marks a time in Earth history at which certain hyperthermophilic archaea adapted to low-temperature environments.

Biosynthetic controls on the 13C contents of organic components in the photoautotrophic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus

To assess the effects related to known and proposed biosynthetic pathways on the (13)C content of lipids and storage products of the photoautotrophic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus, the isotopic compositions of bulk cell material, alkyl and isoprenoid lipids, and storage products such as glycogen and polyhydroxyalkanoic acids have been investigated. The bulk cell material was 13 per thousand depleted in (13)C relative to the dissolved inorganic carbon. Evidently, inorganic carbon fixation by the main carboxylating enzymes used by C. aurantiacus, which are assumed to use bicarbonate rather than CO(2), results in a relatively small carbon isotopic fractionation compared with CO(2) fixation by the Calvin cycle. Even carbon numbered fatty acids, odd carbon numbered fatty acids, and isoprenoid lipids were 14, 15, and 17-18 per thousand depleted in (13)C relative to the carbon source, respectively. Based on the (13)C contents of alkyl and isoprenoid lipids, a 40 per thousand difference in (13)C content between the carboxyl and methyl carbon from acetyl-coenzyme A has been calculated. Both sugars and polyhydroxyalkanoic acid were enriched in (13)C relative to the alkyl and isoprenoid lipids. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report in which the stable carbon isotopic composition of a large range of biosynthetic products in a photoautotrophic organism has been investigated and interpreted based on previously proposed inorganic carbon fixation and biosynthetic pathways. Our results indicate that compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis may provide a rapid screening tool for carbon fixation pathways.

Biosynthetic controls on the 13C contents of organic components in the photoautotrophic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus

To assess the effects related to known and proposed biosynthetic pathways on the (13)C content of lipids and storage products of the photoautotrophic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus, the isotopic compositions of bulk cell material, alkyl and isoprenoid lipids, and storage products such as glycogen and polyhydroxyalkanoic acids have been investigated. The bulk cell material was 13 per thousand depleted in (13)C relative to the dissolved inorganic carbon. Evidently, inorganic carbon fixation by the main carboxylating enzymes used by C. aurantiacus, which are assumed to use bicarbonate rather than CO(2), results in a relatively small carbon isotopic fractionation compared with CO(2) fixation by the Calvin cycle. Even carbon numbered fatty acids, odd carbon numbered fatty acids, and isoprenoid lipids were 14, 15, and 17-18 per thousand depleted in (13)C relative to the carbon source, respectively. Based on the (13)C contents of alkyl and isoprenoid lipids, a 40 per thousand difference in (13)C content between the carboxyl and methyl carbon from acetyl-coenzyme A has been calculated. Both sugars and polyhydroxyalkanoic acid were enriched in (13)C relative to the alkyl and isoprenoid lipids. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report in which the stable carbon isotopic composition of a large range of biosynthetic products in a photoautotrophic organism has been investigated and interpreted based on previously proposed inorganic carbon fixation and biosynthetic pathways. Our results indicate that compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis may provide a rapid screening tool for carbon fixation pathways.

Stable carbon isotope fractionations of the hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon Metallosphaera sedula

The stable carbon isotopic compositions of the inorganic carbon source, bulk cell material, and isoprenoid lipids of the hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon Metallosphaera sedula, which uses a 3-hydroxypropionate-like pathway for autotrophic carbon fixation, have been measured. Bulk cell material was approximately 3 per thousand enriched in 13C relative to the dissolved inorganic carbon, and 2 per thousand depleted in 13C relative to isoprenoid membrane lipids. The isotope data suggested that M. sedula uses mainly bicarbonate rather than CO(2) as inorganic carbon source, which is in accordance with a 3-hydroxypropionate-like carbon fixation pathway. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of 13C fractionation effects of such a hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon.

Gas chromatography/combustion/isotope-ratio-monitoring mass spectrometric analysis of methylboronic derivatives of monosaccharides: a new method for determining natural 13C abundances of carbohydrates

Monosaccharides were derivatized using methylboronic acid and N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA), and the delta13C values of these derivatives measured by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope-ratio-monitoring mass spectrometry to determine the original 13C-content of the monosaccharides. Comparison with the measured off-line delta13 values of the monosaccharides shows that no fractionation in 13C takes place during derivatization. The methylboronic derivatization method has proven to be a new method for natural abundance isotopic analysis of intact monosaccharides (arabinose, xylose, fucose, fructose and glucose). The method is rapid, does not involve isotopic fractionation during derivatization, and gives more precise delta13C values than other methods reported. The method was successfully applied to determine the delta13C value of glucose of the freshwater alga Scenedesmus communis.

Widespread occurrence of structurally diverse tetraether membrane lipids: evidence for the ubiquitous presence of low-temperature relatives of hyperthermophiles

Isoprenoid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) and branched glycerol dialkyl diethers are main membrane constituents of cultured hyperthermophilic archaea and eubacteria, respectively, and are found in environments with temperatures >60 degrees C. Recently, we developed a new technique for the analysis of intact core tetraether lipids in cell material and sediments. The application of this technique to recent sediments shows that known and newly identified isoprenoid and branched GDGTs are widespread in low-temperature environments (<20 degrees C) and are structurally far more diverse than previously thought. Their distribution indicates the ubiquitous environmental presence of as yet uncultivated, nonthermophilic organisms that may have independently evolved from hyperthermophilic archaea and eubacteria. The structures of some of the new GDGTs point to the hybridization of both typical archaeal and eubacterial biosynthetic pathways in single organisms.

Novel polyunsaturated n-alkenes in the marine diatom Rhizosolenia setigera

Four previously unknown n-C25 and n-C27 heptaenes of the marine diatom Rhizosolenia setigera were isolated and identified using NMR spectroscopy. They possess six methylene interrupted (Z)-double bonds starting at C-3 and an additional terminal or n-2 (Z)-double bond. Structural and stable carbon isotopic evidence suggests that these polyenes are biosynthesized by chain elongation of the C22:6n-3 fatty acid, followed by decarboxylation and introduction of double bonds at specific positions.

Autotrophy of green non-sulphur bacteria in hot spring microbial mats: biological explanations for isotopically heavy organic carbon in the geological record

Inferences about the evidence of life recorded in organic compounds within the Earth's ancient rocks have depended on 13C contents low enough to be characteristic of biological debris produced by the well-known CO2 fixation pathway, the Calvin cycle. 'Atypically' high values have been attributed to isotopic alteration of sedimentary organic carbon by thermal metamorphism. We examined the possibility that organic carbon characterized by a relatively high 13C content could have arisen biologically from recently discovered autotrophic pathways. We focused on the green non-sulphur bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus that uses the 3-hydroxypropionate pathway for inorganic carbon fixation and is geologically significant as it forms modern mat communities analogous to stromatolites. Organic matter in mats constructed by Chloroflexus spp. alone had relatively high 13C contents (-14.9%) and lipids diagnostic of Chloroflexus that were also isotopically heavy (-8.9% to -18.5%). Organic matter in mats constructed by Chloroflexus in conjunction with cyanobacteria had a more typical Calvin cycle signature (-23.5%). However, lipids diagnostic of Chloroflexus were isotopically enriched (-15.1% to -24.1%) relative to lipids typical of cyanobacteria (-33.9% to -36.3%). This suggests that, in mats formed by both cyanobacteria and Chloroflexus, autotrophy must have a greater effect on Chloroflexus carbon metabolism than the photoheterotrophic consumption of cyanobacterial photosynthate. Chloroflexus cell components were also selectively preserved. Hence, Chloroflexus autotrophy and selective preservation of its products constitute one purely biological mechanism by which isotopically heavy organic carbon could have been introduced into important Precambrian geological features.

Sterols in a psychrophilic methanotroph, Methylosphaera hansonii

A suite of six sterols, lanosterol, lanost-8(9)-en-3beta-ol, 4, 4-dimethylcholesta-8(14),24-dien-3beta-ol, 4, 4-dimethylcholest-8(14)-en-3beta-ol, 4-methylcholesta-8(14), 24-dien-3beta-ol and 4-methylcholest-8(14)-en-3beta-ol, were identified in the psychrophilic methanotrophic bacterium, Methylosphaera hansonii. Their presence suggests that the capacity for sterol biosynthesis in methanotrophic bacteria is limited to the family Methylococcaceae but which have widely different optimal growth temperatures.

Structural identification of the diester preen-gland waxes of the red knot (Calidris canutus)

The intact C(32)-C(48) diester wax esters of the preen gland of the migrating bird Calidris canutus are shown, using synthesized standards, to comprise predominantly C(12)-C(16) alkane-1,2-diols esterified with octanoic, decanoic, and dodecanoic acid at one position, and with predominantly even-numbered carbon fatty acids at the other position.

Analysis of intact tetraether lipids in archaeal cell material and sediments by high performance liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

A method combining normal phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with positive ion atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (APCI-MS) was developed for the analysis of intact glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in archaeal cell material and sediments. All GDGTs previously reported to occur in the thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus could be identified based on their mass spectra and retention time. Positive ion mass spectra consisted of abundant protonated molecules and fragment ions corresponding to loss of water and the glycerol moiety. In addition, two novel GDGTs representing alternative combinations of biphytanyl moieties were observed. Using this method, the tetraethers present in the thermophilic archaeon Metallosphaera sedula and two sediment samples were characterized. This rapid method will greatly contribute to the establishment of the sedimentary record of these compounds and increase our understanding of archaea and their occurrence in widely different environments.

All-cis hentriaconta-9,15,22-triene in microbial mats formed by the phototrophic prokaryote Chloroflexus

All-cis hentriaconta-9,15,22-triene (I) has been isolated from Chloroflexus mats, Yellowstone National Park (USA), and identified by GC-(HR)MS analysis of I and its hydrogenated and DMDS-derivatized products and by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy.

Ether lipids of planktonic archaea in the marine water column

Acyclic and cyclic biphytanes derived from the membrane ether lipids of archaea were found in water column particulate and sedimentary organic matter from several oxic and anoxic marine environments. Compound-specific isotope analyses of the carbon skeletons suggest that planktonic archaea utilize an isotopically heavy carbon source such as algal carbohydrates and proteins or dissolved bicarbonate. Due to their high preservation potential, these lipids provide a fossil record of planktonic archaea and suggest that they have thrived in marine environments for more than 50 million years.

Evidence for gammacerane as an indicator of water column stratification

A new route for the formation of gammacerane from tetrahymanol is proposed; in addition to dehydration and hydrogenation, sulphurisation and early C-S cleavage are shown to be important in the pathway of formation, especially in marine sediments. Evidence is twofold. First, relatively large amounts of the gammacerane skeleton are sequestered in S-rich macromolecular aggregates formed by natural sulphurisation of functionalised lipids. Selective cleavage of polysulphide linkages with MeLi/MeI led to formation of 3-methylthiogammacerane, indicating that the gammacerane skeleton is primarily bound via sulphur at position 3, consistent with the idea that tetrahymanol (or the corresponding ketone) is the precursor for gammacerane. Second, upon mild artificial maturation of two sediments using hydrous pyrolysis, gammacerane is released from S-rich macromolecular aggregates by cleavage of the relatively weak C-S bonds. The stable carbon isotopic compositions of gammacerane and lipids derived from primary producers and green sulphur bacteria in both the Miocene Gessoso-solfifera and Upper Jurassic Allgau Formations indicate that gammacerane is derived from bacterivorous ciliates which were partially feeding on green sulphur bacteria. This demonstrates that anaerobic ciliates living at or below the chemocline are important sources for gammacerane, consistent with the fact that ciliates only biosynthesize tetrahymanol if their diet is deprived of sterols. This leads to the conclusion that gammacerane is an indicator for water column stratification, which solves two current enigmas in gammacerane geochemistry. Firstly, it explains why gammacerane is often found in sediments deposited under hypersaline conditions but is not necessarily restricted to this type of deposits. Secondly, it explains why lacustrine deposits may contain abundant gammacerane since most lakes in the temperate climatic zones are stratified during summer.

A Molecular Organic Carbon Isotope Record of Miocene Climate Changes

The difference in carbon-13 ((13)C) contents of hopane and sterane biomarkers in the Monterey formation (Naples Beach, California) parallels the Miocene inorganic record of the change in (18)O (delta(18)O), reflecting the Miocene evolution from a well-mixed to a highly stratified photic zone (upper 100 meters) in the Pacific. Steranes (delta(13)C = 25.4 +/- 0.7 per mil versus the Pee Dee belemnite standard) from shallow photic-zone organisms do not change isotopically throughout the Miocene. In contrast, sulfur-bound C(35) hopanes (likely derived from bacterial plankton living at the base of the photic zone) have systematically decreasing (13)C concentrations in Middle and Late Miocene samples (delta(13)C = -29.5 to -31.5 per mil), consistent with the Middle Miocene formation of a carbon dioxide-rich cold water mass at the base of the photic zone.

The combined application of organic sulphur and isotope geochemistry to assess multiple sources of palaeobiochemicals with identical carbon skeletons

Five immature sediments from a Messinian evaporitic basin, representing one evaporitic cycle, were studied using molecular organic sulphur and isotope geochemistry. It is shown that a specific carbon skeleton which is present in different "modes of occurrence" ("free" hydrocarbon, alkylthiophene, alkylthiolane, alkyldithiane, alkylthiane, and sulphur-bound in macromolecules) may have different biosynthetic precursors which are possibly derived from different biota. It is demonstrated that the mode of occurrence and the carbon isotopic composition of a sedimentary lipid can be used to "reconstruct" its biochemical precursor. This novel approach of recognition of the suite of palaeobiochemicals present during the time of deposition allows for identification of the biological sources with an unprecedented specificity.

Recognition of paleobiochemicals by a combined molecular sulfur and isotope geochemical approach

Study of organic matter in immature sediments from a Messinian evaporitic basin shows that consideration of structures, modes of occurrence, and carbon isotopic compositions of free and sulfur-bound carbon skeletons allow identification of biochemical precursors. Detailed information concerning biotic communities present during deposition of sediments can be retrieved in this way. Moreover, unprecedented biochemicals were recognized; these extend the horizon of biomarker geochemistry.

Serological differentiation of the potato-cyst nematodes Globodera pallida and G. rostochiensis: II. Preparation and characterization of species specific monoclonal antibodies

Hybridomas producing antibodies which react with thermostable protein antigens isolated from the potato cyst nematode species Globodera rostochiensis (TSRoP) and G. pallida (TSPaP) were isolated. Three of the isolated hybridomas (WGP 1, WGP 2 and WGP 3) produce antibodies that react with preferent affinity with protein antigens isolated from G. pallida, and two (WGR 11 and WGR 12) produce antibodies which bind preferentially to G. rostochiensis. Binding constants were determined to quantitate the differences in affinity of WGP 1, WGP 2, WGP 3, WGR 11 and WGR 12 for the protein antigens from both nematode species, and to asses the similarity in affinity for either protein antigen with respect to the other non-specific antibodies. In immunoblotting experiments a binding could be demonstrated, for most antibodies, to two thermostable proteins with apparent molecular weights of 20.6/20.8 kD for G. rostochiensis and 20.5/21.0 kD for G. pallida. the reactivity of the monoclonal antibodies with thermostable protein antigens from other common cyst nematodes was also investigated. All monoclonal antibodies, which are not specific for TSRoP or TSPaP, bind to thermostable proteins of these cyst nematode species. The use of some of the isolated monoclonal antibodies to improve the diagnosis of potato cyst nematodes in soil samples is discussed.