13C isotopic fractionation during biodegradation of agricultural wastes

Significant differences in δ(13)C signatures occur within and between plant tissues and their constituent biochemical entities, and also within and between heterotrophic bacteria and fungi and their metabolic products. Furthermore, (13)C isotopic fractionation occurs during the biodegradation of organic molecules as seen in the substrate, respired CO(2) and the microbial biomass, which could be related to substrate composition and/or microbial metabolism. The (13)C isotopic fractionation observed during the decomposition of a single defined C substrate appears to be due to the intra-molecular heterogeneity in (13)C in the substrate and to (13)C isotopic fractionation during microbial metabolism. Very limited data suggest that the latter may be quantitatively more important than the former. Studies with defined fungi in culture media have highlighted the complexities associated with the interpretation of the observed patterns of (13)C isotopic fractionation when a single defined C source is added to the culture medium which itself contains one or more C sources. Techniques involving (13)C enrichment or paired treatments involving an equivalent C(3)- and C(4)-derived substrate have been devised to overcome the problem of background C in the culture medium and (13)C isotopic fractionation during metabolism. Studies with complex substrates have shown an initial (13)C depletion phase in respired CO(2) followed by a (13)C enrichment phase which may or may not be followed by another (13)C depletion phase. Basic studies involving an integrated approach are required to gain a new insight into (13)C isotopic fractionation during organic residue decomposition, by simultaneous measurements of δ(13)C in all C moieties. New analytical tools to measure real-time changes in δ(13)CO(2) and the intra-molecular δ(13)C distribution within plant biochemical entities offer new opportunities for unravelling the complex interactions between substrate and microbial metabolism with respect to (13)C isotopic fractionation during biodegradation.