Sinks and Sources of Intracellular Nitrate in Gromiids

A substantial nitrate pool is stored within living cells in various benthic marine environments. The fate of this bioavailable nitrogen differs according to the organisms managing the intracellular nitrate (ICN). While some light has been shed on the nitrate carried by diatoms and foraminiferans, no study has so far followed the nitrate kept by gromiids. Gromiids are large protists and their ICN concentration can exceed 1000x the ambient nitrate concentration. In the present study we investigated gromiids from diverse habitats and showed that they contained nitrate at concentrations ranging from 1 to 370 mM. We used 15N tracer techniques to investigate the source of this ICN, and found that it originated both from active nitrate uptake from the environment and from intracellular production, most likely through bacterial nitrification. Microsensor measurements showed that part of the ICN was denitrified to N2 when gromiids were exposed to anoxia. Denitrification seemed to be mediated by endobiotic bacteria because antibiotics inhibited denitrification activity. The active uptake of nitrate suggests that ICN plays a role in gromiid physiology and is not merely a consequence of the gromiid hosting a diverse bacterial community. Measurements of aerobic respiration rates and modeling of oxygen consumption by individual gromiid cells suggested that gromiids may occasionally turn anoxic by their own respiration activity and thus need strategies for coping with this self-inflicted anoxia

Oxygen respiration rates of benthic foraminifera measured under laboratory conditions using oxygen microelectrodes

Date du colloque : 05/2008International audienc

Correlation between Anammox Activity and Microscale Distribution of Nitrite in a Subtropical Mangrove Sediment

The distribution of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) in nature has been addressed by only a few environmental studies, and our understanding of how anammox bacteria compete for substrates in natural environments is therefore limited. In this study, we measure the potential anammox rates in sediment from four locations in a subtropical tidal river system. Porewater profiles of NO(x)(−) (NO(2)(−) plus NO(3)(−)) and NO(2)(−) were measured with microscale biosensors, and the availability of NO(2)(−) was compared with the potential for anammox activity. The potential rate of anammox increased with increasing distance from the mouth of the river and correlated strongly with the production of nitrite in the sediment and with the average concentration or total pool of nitrite in the suboxic sediment layer. Nitrite accumulated both from nitrification and from NO(x)(−) reduction, though NO(x)(−) reduction was shown to have the greatest impact on the availability of nitrite in the suboxic sediment layer. This finding suggests that denitrification, though using NO(2)(−) as a substrate, also provides a substrate for the anammox process, which has been suggested in previous studies where microscale NO(2)(−) profiles were not measured

Denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation in sediments: E ffects of microphytobenthos and NO3 -

Microphytobenthos (MPB) regulate nitrogen fluxes across the sediment-water interface in shallow coastal and estuarine environments, where the water-phase concentrations exhibit pronounced variations in time and space. The impact of MPB and N-availability on anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and denitrification was studied in experimental microcosms using a combination of N isotope and microsensor techniques (NO + NO and O). The presence of MPB at low water-column NO concentrations led to an 85 % reduction in the capacity of the sediments for performing the anammox reaction within a 3 wk period, but did not affect the denitrification potential. The presence of MPB also had a significant impact on both O and NO + NO (NO ) concentrations in the sediment. At low NO concentrations, NO was almost depleted in the alga-colonized sediments within 2 wk of incubation, due to assimilation and inhibition of nitrification. The depth distribution of O displayed significant variations during the light-dark cycles, leading to periodical O exposure of sediment strata that may harbor the anammox process. A sustained high anammox potential in sediments where MPB was allowed to colonize in the presence of 600 μM NO in the overlying water indicated that a steady supply of NO and not protection from O exposure was the vital factor for maintenance of anammox capacity. In this case, NO penetrated approximately 9 mm into the sediment. We therefore suggest that a continuous supply of NO to the anoxic sediment layers is the key factor for the presence of anammox in marine sediments. On the basis of these results, we suggest that anammox is of very limited significance in environments that periodically experience N-limitation and that occurrence of high rates of anammox in coastal sediments is limited to estuaries with permanently high concentrations of NO in the water column

Denitrification: an ecosystem service provided by salt marshes

We hypothesized that denitrification rates, as an N removal process, would be enhanced in salt marsh rhizosediments as compared to sediments without vegetation (bare mudflats). Denitrification rates (measured by the 15N-isotope pairing technique), potential nitrification, and nutrient fluxes were seasonally quantified in a Spartina maritima salt marsh and in adjacent bare mudflats. Potential nitrification rates were significantly higher in autumn and winter, but there were no significant differences between the bare mudflats and S. maritima vegetated sediment. Seasonally, denitrification rates in vegetated sediments under dark conditions were significantly higher in winter (676 ± 497 µmol N2 m−2 h−1, mean ± SD), whereas bare mudflats showed a maximum rate of 151 ± 24 µmol N2 m−2 h−1 in summer. The high denitrification rates recorded in winter may be due to many abiotic and biotic factors, namely higher potential nitrification and nitrate availability in the water column, lower competition for nitrogen within the sediment, and less competition between plants, microphytobenthos, and nitrifiers, especially in dark conditions. Hence, during winter, there was a higher contribution of S. maritima marshes to N removal through denitrification, highlighting the role of the marshes in this ecosystem service. As a whole, considering the seasonal variations of the studied processes, it cannot be concluded whether or not annual de nitrification was significantly different between the vegetated sediment and the bare mudflats.publishe

Biogeochemical impact of cable bacteria on coastal Black Sea sediment

Cable bacteria can strongly alter sediment biogeochemistry. Here, we used laboratory incubations to determine the potential impact of their activity on the cycling of iron (Fe), phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S). Microsensor depth profiles of oxygen, sulfide and pH in combination with electric potential profiling and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) analyses showed a rapid development (5 d) of cable bacteria, followed by a long period of activity (200 d). During most of the experiment, the current density correlated linearly with the oxygen demand. Sediment oxygen uptake was attributed to the activity of cable bacteria and the oxidation of reduced products from the anaerobic degradation of organic matter, such as ammonium. Pore water sulfide was low (5 uM) throughout the experiment. Sulfate reduction acted as the main source of sulfide for cable bacteria. Pore water Fe2C reached levels of up to 1.7mM during the incubations, due to the dissolution of FeS (30 %) and siderite, an Fe carbonate mineral (70 %). Following the upward diffusion of Fe2C, a surface enrichment of Fe oxides formed. Hence, besides FeS, siderite may act as a major source of Fe for Fe oxides in coastal surface sediments where cable bacteria are active. Using uXRF, we show that the enrichments in Fe oxides induced by cable bacteria are located in a thin subsurface layer of 0.3 mm. We show that similar subsurface layers enriched in Fe and P are also observed at field sites where cable bacteria were recently active and little bioturbation occurs. This suggests that such subsurface Fe oxide layers, which are not always visible to the naked eye, could potentially be a marker for recent activity of cable bacteria.</p

Survival and life strategy of the foraminiferan Globobulimina turgida through nitrate storage and denitrification

International audienceIn a laboratory experiment, we examined the prolonged survival and behaviour of the benthic foraminiferan Globobulimina turgida under 3 simulated natural conditions: oxygenated with added nitrate, anoxic with added nitrate, and anoxic. The survival rates, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) reserve and intracellular nitrate pool of G. turgida were measured periodically under these conditions. Furthermore, to evaluate the efficiency and energy yield of the respiration system, denitrification rates of individual specimens were quantified using the acetylene inhibition and N 2 O microsensor technique at the start of the experiment. Our results demonstrate that the long-term (56 d) survival rate (64%) and ATP concentrations of G. turgida were not significantly different in oxygenated and anoxic, nitrate-containing conditions (Mann-Whitney test, p > 0.05). Thus, G. turgida can survive prolonged anoxia (3 mo) as long as nitrate is available to sustain its respiration. However, it remains unsure whether growth or reproduction can take place under anoxia. Short-term (21 to 35 d) survival rates were lower in nitrate-free, anoxic conditions (22% recovered alive compared to 62 to 82% in nitrate-oxic or nitrate-anoxic conditions), but foraminifera were observed to survive up to 56 d if respiring from their intra-cellular nitrate pool only. The foraminiferal nitrate pool appears very dynamic, as wide ranges of concentrations were measured in living specimens (0 to 463 mM ind.-1). We postulate that the scatter in the nitrate pool measurements highlights the ability of the foraminifera to actively collect and respire on nitrate, depending on individuals' history of exposure to oxygen and nitrate