在海洋沉积物中的甲消耗古细菌
K U Hinrichs1, J M Hayes, S P Sylva
1Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts 02543, USA.
Nature
|May 11, 1999
概括
海洋沉积物通过与已知的甲原体不同的古生物无氧消耗甲. 这一发现揭示了海底环境中甲循环的新型微生物途径.
科学领域:
- 海洋微生物学 海洋微生物学
- 地质化学 地质化学
- 分子生物学分子生物学
背景情况:
- 甲在海洋沉积物中丰富,但在到达含氧水域之前被消耗.
- 厌氧甲氧化对于调节大气中的甲至关重要,但负责的生物仍然在很大程度上没有表征.
- 生物地质化学数据表明,多个生物体的过程涉及甲原体和硫酸盐降解剂.
研究的目的:
- 研究海洋沉积物中无氧甲消耗的微生物群落.
- 为了识别参与甲循环的新型微生物.
- 为特定脂质生物标记物的生物来源提供直接证据.
主要方法:
- 对沉积物中与分解的甲水合物相关的脂质生物标志物的分析.
- 稳定同位素分析 (碳-13耗尽) 以追踪甲作为碳来源.
- 用小子单元核糖体RNA (16SrRNA) 来识别微生物种群的基因调查.
主要成果:
- 脂质生物标志物在碳-13中严重耗尽,表明甲是古生物的主要碳来源.
- 这些古生物在遗传学上与先前已知的甲基生物有所区别.
- 16S rRNA基因调查揭示了一个主导的,与甲基序列相关的新型考古群体.
结论:
- 有证据表明,与已知的甲基生物无关的新一组古生物是无氧甲消耗的原因.
- 这一发现扩大了我们对海洋环境中甲循环的理解.
- 该研究确定了参与甲无氧氧化过程的新型考古遗迹.
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