Publication Date:
2014-02-25
Description:
The degradation of marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important control variable in the global carbon cycle and dependent on the DOM composition. For our understanding of the kinetics of organic matter cycling in the ocean, it is therefore crucial to achieve a mechanistic and molecular understanding of its transformation processes. A long-term microbial experiment was performed to follow the production of non-labile DOM by marine bacteria. Two different glucose concentrations and dissolved algal exudates were used as substrates. We monitored the bacterial abundance, concentrations of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC, POC), nutrients, amino acids, and transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) for two years. Ultrahigh resolution Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) allowed the molecular characterization of extracted DOM after 70 days and after ∼2 years of incubation. Although glucose was quickly degraded, a DOC background was generated in glucose incubations. Only 20% of the organic carbon from algal exudate was degraded within the 2 years of incubation. TEP, which are released by micro-organisms, were produced during glucose degradation but decreased within less than three weeks back to half of the maximum concentration and were below detection in all treatments after 2 years. The molecular analysis demonstrated that DOM generated during glucose degradation differed appreciably from DOM produced during the degradation of the algal exudates. Our results led to several conclusions: (i) Higher substrate levels result in a higher level of non-labile DOC which is an important prerequisite for carbon sequestration in the ocean; (ii) TEP are generated by bacteria but are also degraded rapidly, thus limiting their potential contribution to carbon sequestration; (iii) The molecular signatures of DOM derived from algal exudates or glucose after 70 days of incubation differed strongly from refractory DOM. After 2 years, however, the molecular patterns of DOM in glucose incubations were more similar to deep ocean DOM whereas the degraded exudate was still different.
Print ISSN:
1810-6277
Electronic ISSN:
1810-6285
Topics:
Biology
,
Geosciences
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