Remarkable Capacity for Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane at High Methane Concentration

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), a central process in the carbon cycle of anoxic environments, moderates the release of methane from soils and sediments to water bodies and, ultimately, the atmosphere. The regulation of AOM in the environment remains poorly constrained. Here we quantified AOM and sulfate reduction (SR) rates in diverse deep seafloor samples at in situ pressure and methane concentration and discovered that, in some cases, AOM exceeded SR rates by more than four times when methane concentrations were above 5 mM. Methane concentration also affected other carbon-cycling processes (e.g., carbon assimilation) in addition to SR. These results illustrate that substantial amounts of methane may be oxidized independent of SR under in situ conditions, reshaping our view of the capacity and mechanism of AOM in methane-rich environments, including the deep biosphere, where sulfate availability is considered to limit AOM

Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms

Angiosperms are the cornerstone of most terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods1,2. A robust understanding of angiosperm evolution is required to explain their rise to ecological dominance. So far, the angiosperm tree of life has been determined primarily by means of analyses of the plastid genome3,4. Many studies have drawn on this foundational work, such as classification and first insights into angiosperm diversification since their Mesozoic origins5,6,7. However, the limited and biased sampling of both taxa and genomes undermines confidence in the tree and its implications. Here, we build the tree of life for almost 8,000 (about 60%) angiosperm genera using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes8. This 15-fold increase in genus-level sampling relative to comparable nuclear studies9 provides a critical test of earlier results and brings notable change to key groups, especially in rosids, while substantiating many previously predicted relationships. Scaling this tree to time using 200 fossils, we discovered that early angiosperm evolution was characterized by high gene tree conflict and explosive diversification, giving rise to more than 80% of extant angiosperm orders. Steady diversification ensued through the remaining Mesozoic Era until rates resurged in the Cenozoic Era, concurrent with decreasing global temperatures and tightly linked with gene tree conflict. Taken together, our extensive sampling combined with advanced phylogenomic methods shows the deep history and full complexity in the evolution of a megadiverse clade

Global rates of marine sulfate reduction and implications for sub–sea-floor metabolic activities

Sulfate reduction is a globally important yet poorly quantified redox process in marine sediments. We developed an artificial neural network trained with 199 sulfate profiles, constrained with geomorphological and geochemical maps to estimate global sulfate reduction rate distributions. Globally, 11.3 Tmol sulfate are reduced yearly, ~15% of previous estimates, accounting for the oxidation of 12-29% of the organic carbon flux to the sea floor. Combined with global cell distributions in marine sediments, these results indicate a strong contrast in sub–sea-floor prokaryote habitats: in continental margins global cell numbers in sulfate-depleted sediment exceed those in the overlying sulfate-bearing sediment by an order of magnitude, whereas in the abyss most life occurs in oxic and/or sulfate-reducing sediments

Global rates of marine sulfate reduction and implications for sub–sea-floor metabolic activities

Sulfate reduction is a globally important yet poorly quantified redox process in marine sediments. We developed an artificial neural network trained with 199 sulfate profiles, constrained with geomorphological and geochemical maps to estimate global sulfate reduction rate distributions. Globally, 11.3 Tmol sulfate are reduced yearly, ~15% of previous estimates, accounting for the oxidation of 12-29% of the organic carbon flux to the sea floor. Combined with global cell distributions in marine sediments, these results indicate a strong contrast in sub–sea-floor prokaryote habitats: in continental margins global cell numbers in sulfate-depleted sediment exceed those in the overlying sulfate-bearing sediment by an order of magnitude, whereas in the abyss most life occurs in oxic and/or sulfate-reducing sediments