Biological sources, paleoenvironment, and organic matter enrichment in source rocks of the Ordovician Majiagou Formation, Ordos Basin, China:Evidence from biomarkers,microfossils, and inorganic geochemical analyses

Carbonate deposits in the Ordovivian Majiagou Formation are significant source rocks for natural gas generation in the Ordos Basin, northwestern China. Previous studies mainly focused on the organic matter enrichment mechanism of shales rather than carbonate rocks. The biological sources and paleoenvironment of carbonate source rocks, and the main controlling factors of organic matter enrichment in the carbonate source rocks were studied in this paper in combination with evidence from biomarkers, microfossils and inorganic geochemistry analysis. The results show that four types of microfacies were identified in the Majiagou Formation, respectively as: mud flat microfacies, mud-dolomite flat microfacies, dolomite flat microfacies, and open marine microfacies. The biological sources of organic matter are chiefly planktonic algae, followed by bacteria. The mud flat and mud-dolomite flat contain a high abundance of terrigenous detrital inputs, as indicated by the high content of Al_(2)O_(3), TiO_(2), Th, and Zr. The low Sr/Cu and high Rb/Sr values reveal warm and humid paleoclimate conditions in the mud flat and mud-dolomite flat, whereas the dolomite flat and open marine were likely formed in hot and arid paleoclimate conditions. The mud flat and mud-dolomite flat deposits were characterized by high paleoproductivity of the Majiagou Formation. Low Sr/Ba values were found in the mud flat samples, indicating fresh to brackish water condition, whereas samples of other facies have a relatively high degree of salinity. Based on U_(auth), Mo_(auth), Cr_(auth), Co_(auth), δCe, and δEu values, the mud flat microfacies was formed in a suboxic and anoxic environment, whereas the mud-dolomite flat, dolomite flat and open marine microfacies were within dysoxic to oxic conditions. A model of organic matter enrichment in the Majiagou Formation is thus established. The level of terrigenous detrital inputs is the principal factor of organic matter enrichment in the Majiagou Formation, secondly are redox condition and then paleoproductivity. The mud flat and mud-dolomite flat microfacies show abundant terrestrial detrital inputs and nutrient elements, indicative of warm and humid climate that facilitated biotic productivity, including an abundance of planktonic algae(microfossils). The suboxic and anoxic environments promoted the preservation of organic matter, as evidenced by the relatively high TOC content. The mud flat as well as the mud-dolomite flat of the Majiagou Formation is prospecting for forming source rocks.

Diagnosis of Physical and Biological Control over Phytoplankton in the Gulf of Maine-Georges Bank Region Using an Adjoint Data Assimilation Approach

The linkage between physical and biological processes, particularly the effect of the circulation field on the distribution of phytoplankton, is studied by applying a two-dimensional model and an adjoint data assimilation approach to the Gulf of Maine-Georges Bank region. The model results, comparing well with observation data, reveal seasonal and geographic variations of phytoplankton concentration and verify that the seasonal cycles of phytoplankton are controlled by both biological sources and advection processes which are functions of space and time and counterbalance each other. Although advective flux divergences have greater magnitudes on Georges Bank than in the coastal region of the western Gulf of Maine, advection control over phytoplankton concentration is more significant in the coastal region of the western Gulf of Maine. The model results also suggest that the two separated populations in the coastal regions of the western Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank are self-sustaining.

Existence and implications of hop-17(21)-enes in the lower Cretaceous of the Saihantala Sag, Erlian Basin, China

C31- to C35-hop-17（21）-enes are identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS） analysis to exist as double isomers in most samples of the Aershan Formation and members 1 and 2 of the Tenggeer Formation from well SH3. Comprehensive organic geochemistry and organic petrology study indicates that algae and bacteria are the main biological source of lower Cretaceous sediments in the Saihantala Sag, and this is in accordance with the existence of hop-17（21）-enes. The similar distributions of hop-17（21）-enes and hopanes of these samples indicate that hop-17（21）-enes were transformed into hopanes through hydrogenation during diagenesis processes. The existence of hop-17（21）-enes means that not only the formation of organic matter is related to an anoxic environment and a biological source of algae and bacteria, but also hop-17（21）-enes are direct indicators of hydrocarbon rock at an immature to low-maturity stage. High hydrocarbon conversion ratio, algae and bacteria source and a high abundance of organic matter suggest that the Saihantala Sag has the potential to generate immature to low-maturity oil, which may be of great significance for oil exploration in the Erlian Basin.

Magic Mushrooms: Screening for Novel Biocatalysts in the Phylum Basidiomycota

The ascending application of enzymes in organic synthesis creates a growing demand for novel biocatalysts. The applied methods for their identification range from microbial enrichment cultures over metagenome screenings to solely computational methods. In this communication, we demonstrate a straightforward screening approach for the detection of novel biocatalysts in fungi belonging to the phylum Basidiomycota. It basically relies on mincing of the whole fruit bodies of freshly collected mushrooms with subsequent direct screening. Suitability was demonstrated with eight different mushrooms which were investigated for carbonyl reductase activity on sterically demanding carbonyl compounds. The results indicate the presence of potentially useful carbonyl reductases (KREDs) in all tested fungi. Closer characterization of the preparation from pigskin poison puffball (Scleroderma citrinum) showed the presence of KRED exhibiting a broad substrate range. Thus, applicability of this low-tech screening approach could be verified in this study.

Distinct distribution revealing multiple bacterial sources for 1-Omonoalkyl glycerol ethers in terrestrial and lake environments

The 1-O-monoalkyl glycerol ethers （MAGEs） were initially viewed as the biomarkers for sulfate-reducing bacteria （SRB） me- diating anaerobic oxidation of methane in the marine environments. However, limited information is known about their distri- bution in terrestrial and other aquatic settings including soils, fresh water lakes, and cave sediments, which may obscure our understanding of their biological sources. Here we found that MAGEs were ubiquitous but differed obviously in distributional pattern among those environments. The surface soils are dominated generally by iC15：0-MAGE, followed by nCI6：o-MAGE whereas the lake sediments show the opposite, resulting in significantly higher iC15：0/nC16：0 ratios in soils than in lake sedi- ments. The cave deposits are characterized by considerably higher proportions of branched MAGEs than the former two envi- ronments. The logarithm of iC15：0/aC15：0 ratio shows a significant negative correlation with soil pH, likely reflecting an adapta- tion of microbial cell membrane to change in the ambient proton concentration. The MAGE profiles in cultured bacteria cannot fully explain the MAGE distribution in all the samples analyzed. Therefore, MAGEs in soil, lake sediments, and cave deposits likely have additional biological source（s） other than SRB and cultured MAGE-producing bacteria. The difference in MAGE pattern among environments is likely to be attributed to change in microbial communities.