ISSN:
1572-9729
Keywords:
methanogenesis
;
lipid synthesis
;
acetate oxidation
;
phospholipids
;
ether lipids
;
bacterial productivity
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
,
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
Abstract In anoxic salt marsh sediments of Sapelo Island, GA, USA, the vertical distribution of CH4 production was measured in the upper 20 cm of surface sediments in ten locations. In one section of high marsh sediments, the concentration and oxidation of acetate in sediment porewaters and the rate and amount of14C acetate and14CO2 incorporation into cellular lipids of the microbial population were investigated. CH4 production rates ranged from 〈1 to 493 nM CH4 gram sediment−1 day−1 from intact subcores incubated under nitrogen. Replacement with H2 stimulated the rate of methane release up to nine fold relative to N2 incubations. Rates of lipid synthesis from CO2 averaged 39.2 ×10−2nanomoles lipid carbon cm3 sediment−1 hr−1, suggesting that CO2 may be an important carbon precursor for microbial membrane synthesis in marsh sediments under anoxic conditions. Qualitative measurements of lipid synthesis rates from acetate were found to average 8.7 × 10−2 nanomoles. Phospholipids were the dominant lipids synthesized by both substrates in sediment cores, accounting for an average of 76.6% of all lipid radioactivity. Small amounts of ether lipids indicative of methanogenic bacteria were observed in cores incubated for 7 days, with similar rates of synthesis for both CO2 and acetate. The low rate of ether lipid synthesis suggests that either methanogen lipid biosynthesis is very slow or that methanogens represent a small component of total microbial lipid synthesis in anoxic sediments.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00004124
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