Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers(GDGTs) in lake sediments are useful biomarkers for the continental paleoclimatic reconstruction. However, the environmental controls on the distribution of these compounds, in par...Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers(GDGTs) in lake sediments are useful biomarkers for the continental paleoclimatic reconstruction. However, the environmental controls on the distribution of these compounds, in particular the 6-methyl isomers of bacterial branched GDGTs(bGDGTs), in the lakes with contrasting pH, are still unknown, hindering their application for paleo-reconstructions. Here, we investigated the environmental impacts on the distribution of GDGTs in 17 alkaline lakes and 1 acid lake in China. It was found that the dissolved oxygen content in water column may have an impact on the distribution of archaeal isoprenoid GDGTs(iGDGTs) by causing the change in archaeal communities. The ratio of GDGT-0/crenarchaeol increases with decreasing oxygen content, indicating that the relative abundance of anaerobic methanogenic archaea or Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group(MCG) vs. aerobic Thaumarchaeota is controlled by the oxygen content dissolved in water of these lakes. Thaumarchaeota are likely to contribute only a small proportion of iGDGTs in the relatively oxygen-depleted lakes, and thus TEX_(86) is not suitable for the reconstruction of the surface temperature of these lakes. The abundance ratio of iGDGTs to bGDGTs(R_(i/b)) appears to show no relationship with water pH in all the lakes, but exhibits a significant positive correlation with the water depth of the acid Lake Qinghai in Tengchong. As expected, the methylation degree of bGDGTs(MBT′) was found to correlate with both mean annual air temperature(MAT) and water pH, and the cyclization degree of bGDGTs(CBT) correlates only with water pH in these lakes. However, the MBT′_(5ME), an index to measure the methylation degree of 5-methyl bGDGTs, exhibits no relationship with MAT, whereas MBT′_(6ME), the methylation degree of 6-methyl bGDGTs, was found to correlate significantly with MAT. This is opposite to the situation observed in the global soils, pointing to a different adaptation of b GDGT-producing bacteria to environmental variables or different microbial sources of bGDGTs in these lakes. The relative abundance of 6- vs. 5-methyl bGDGTs is controlled by pH in these lakes, similar to that observed in worldwide soils. Hence, the isomer ratio(IR) of 6-methyl bGDGTs or CBT′ can be used as a proxy for water pH, although they might be influenced by other environmental factors including temperature in the lakes with a narrow range of pH.展开更多
The biosphere interacts and co-evolves with natural environments.Much is known about the biosphere’s response to ancient environmental perturbations,but less about the biosphere’s influences on environmental change ...The biosphere interacts and co-evolves with natural environments.Much is known about the biosphere’s response to ancient environmental perturbations,but less about the biosphere’s influences on environmental change through earth history.Here,we discuss the roles of microbes in environmental changes during the critical Permian-Triassic(P-Tr)transition and present a perspective on future geomicrobiological investigations.Lipid biomarkers,stable isotopic compositions of carbon,nitrogen and sulfur,and mineralogical investigations have shown that a series of microbial functional groups might have flourished during the P-Tr transition,including those capable of sulfate reduction,anaerobic H2S oxidation,methanogenesis,aerobic CH4oxidation,denitrification,and nitrogen fixation.These microbes may have served to both enhance and degrade the habitability of the Earth-surface environment during this crisis.The integrated microbial roles have enabled the Earth’s exosphere to be a self-regulating system.展开更多
基金supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. CUGL150812)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41330103)the Programme of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities Project (Grant No. B08030)
文摘Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers(GDGTs) in lake sediments are useful biomarkers for the continental paleoclimatic reconstruction. However, the environmental controls on the distribution of these compounds, in particular the 6-methyl isomers of bacterial branched GDGTs(bGDGTs), in the lakes with contrasting pH, are still unknown, hindering their application for paleo-reconstructions. Here, we investigated the environmental impacts on the distribution of GDGTs in 17 alkaline lakes and 1 acid lake in China. It was found that the dissolved oxygen content in water column may have an impact on the distribution of archaeal isoprenoid GDGTs(iGDGTs) by causing the change in archaeal communities. The ratio of GDGT-0/crenarchaeol increases with decreasing oxygen content, indicating that the relative abundance of anaerobic methanogenic archaea or Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group(MCG) vs. aerobic Thaumarchaeota is controlled by the oxygen content dissolved in water of these lakes. Thaumarchaeota are likely to contribute only a small proportion of iGDGTs in the relatively oxygen-depleted lakes, and thus TEX_(86) is not suitable for the reconstruction of the surface temperature of these lakes. The abundance ratio of iGDGTs to bGDGTs(R_(i/b)) appears to show no relationship with water pH in all the lakes, but exhibits a significant positive correlation with the water depth of the acid Lake Qinghai in Tengchong. As expected, the methylation degree of bGDGTs(MBT′) was found to correlate with both mean annual air temperature(MAT) and water pH, and the cyclization degree of bGDGTs(CBT) correlates only with water pH in these lakes. However, the MBT′_(5ME), an index to measure the methylation degree of 5-methyl bGDGTs, exhibits no relationship with MAT, whereas MBT′_(6ME), the methylation degree of 6-methyl bGDGTs, was found to correlate significantly with MAT. This is opposite to the situation observed in the global soils, pointing to a different adaptation of b GDGT-producing bacteria to environmental variables or different microbial sources of bGDGTs in these lakes. The relative abundance of 6- vs. 5-methyl bGDGTs is controlled by pH in these lakes, similar to that observed in worldwide soils. Hence, the isomer ratio(IR) of 6-methyl bGDGTs or CBT′ can be used as a proxy for water pH, although they might be influenced by other environmental factors including temperature in the lakes with a narrow range of pH.
基金supported by Notional Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2011CB808800)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41202240)+2 种基金State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences (Grant No. GBL11202, GBL11302 )the "111" Project (Grant No. B08030)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China University of Geosciences (Grant No. CUG120117)
文摘The biosphere interacts and co-evolves with natural environments.Much is known about the biosphere’s response to ancient environmental perturbations,but less about the biosphere’s influences on environmental change through earth history.Here,we discuss the roles of microbes in environmental changes during the critical Permian-Triassic(P-Tr)transition and present a perspective on future geomicrobiological investigations.Lipid biomarkers,stable isotopic compositions of carbon,nitrogen and sulfur,and mineralogical investigations have shown that a series of microbial functional groups might have flourished during the P-Tr transition,including those capable of sulfate reduction,anaerobic H2S oxidation,methanogenesis,aerobic CH4oxidation,denitrification,and nitrogen fixation.These microbes may have served to both enhance and degrade the habitability of the Earth-surface environment during this crisis.The integrated microbial roles have enabled the Earth’s exosphere to be a self-regulating system.
