The Passive Yet Successful Way of Planktonic Life: Genomic and Experimental Analysis of the Ecology of a Free-Living Polynucleobacter Population

Background: The bacterial taxon Polynucleobacter necessarius subspecies asymbioticus represents a group of planktonic freshwater bacteria with cosmopolitan and ubiquitous distribution in standing freshwater habitats. These bacteria comprise,1 % to 70 % (on average about 20%) of total bacterioplankton cells in various freshwater habitats. The ubiquity of this taxon was recently explained by intra-taxon ecological diversification, i.e. specialization of lineages to specific environmental conditions; however, details on specific adaptations are not known. Here we investigated by means of genomic and experimental analyses the ecological adaptation of a persistent population dwelling in a small acidic pond. Findings: The investigated population (F10 lineage) contributed on average 11 % to total bacterioplankton in the pond during the vegetation periods (ice-free period, usually May to November). Only a low degree of genetic diversification of the population could be revealed. These bacteria are characterized by a small genome size (2.1 Mb), a relatively small number of genes involved in transduction of environmental signals, and the lack of motility and quorum sensing. Experiments indicated that these bacteria live as chemoorganotrophs by mainly utilizing low-molecular-weight substrates derived from photooxidation of humic substances. Conclusions: Evolutionary genome streamlining resulted in a highly passive lifestyle so far only known among free-living bacteria from pelagic marine taxa dwelling in environmentally stable nutrient-poor off-shore systems. Surprisingly, such a lifestyle is also successful in a highly dynamic and nutrient-richer environment such as the water column of the investigate

Shedding light on plant litter decomposition: Advances, implications and new directions in understanding the role of photodegradation

Litter decomposition contributes to one of the largest fluxes of carbon (C) in the terrestrial biosphere and is a primary control on nutrient cycling. The inability of models using climate and litter chemistry to predict decomposition in dry environments has stimulated investigation of non-traditional drivers of decomposition, including photodegradation, the abiotic decomposition of organic matter via exposure to solar radiation. Recent work in this developing field shows that photodegradation may substantially influence terrestrial C fluxes, including abiotic production of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Research has also produced contradictory results regarding controls on photodegradation. Here we summarize the state of knowledge about the role of photodegradation in litter decomposition and C cycling and investigate drivers of photodegradation across experiments using a meta-analysis. Overall, increasing litter exposure to solar radiation increased mass loss by 23% with large variation in photodegradation rates among and within ecosystems. This variation was tied to both litter and environmental characteristics. Photodegradation increased with litter C to nitrogen (N) ratio, but not with lignin content, suggesting that we do not yet fully understand the underlying mechanisms. Photodegradation also increased with factors that increased solar radiation exposure (latitude and litter area to mass ratio) and decreased with mean annual precipitation. The impact of photodegradation on C (and potentially N) cycling fundamentally reshapes our thinking of decomposition as a solely biological process and requires that we define the mechanisms driving photodegradation before we can accurately represent photodegradation in global C and N models. © 2012 US Government

Short-Lived Trace Gases in the Surface Ocean and the Atmosphere

The two-way exchange of trace gases between the ocean and the atmosphere is important for both the chemistry and physics of the atmosphere and the biogeochemistry of the oceans, including the global cycling of elements. Here we review these exchanges and their importance for a range of gases whose lifetimes are generally short compared to the main greenhouse gases and which are, in most cases, more reactive than them. Gases considered include sulphur and related compounds, organohalogens, non-methane hydrocarbons, ozone, ammonia and related compounds, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Finally, we stress the interactivity of the system, the importance of process understanding for modeling, the need for more extensive field measurements and their better seasonal coverage, the importance of inter-calibration exercises and finally the need to show the importance of air-sea exchanges for global cycling and how the field fits into the broader context of Earth System Science

Rainwater monocarboxylic and dicarboxylic acid concentrations in southeastern North Carolina, USA, as a function of air-mass back-trajectory

Eight organic acids were measured in 111 rain events occurring between September 1996 and May 1998 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Formic and acetic acids were the most abundant comprising approximately 75% of the total molar quantity of organic acids. The annual volume-weighted concentrations of organic acids in order of decreasing abundance in rainwater was formic (9.9 μM), acetic (7.3 μM), oxalic (1.8 μM), lactic (1.3 μM), succinic (1.0 μM), malonic (0.7 μM), pyruvic (0.3 μM), and maleic (0.1 μM), with methanesulfonic and glyoxylic acids usually below their detection limit. Growing season back-trajectory data provided strong evidence that terrestrial organic acid sources dominated over marine sources. Air mass back-trajectory analysis indicated that during the growing season air mass origin had a consistent impact on concentrations of rainwater organic acids. Rain with continental back-trajectories coming from the west had the highest concentrations of organic acids while two predominately marine back-trajectories had the lowest concentrations. Concentrations of organic acids in non-growing season rain did not display a consistent pattern indicating variability in sources. Seasonality of individual organic acids for specific back-trajectories was most pronounced in terrestrial back-trajectories and least in the marine back-trajectories indicating that seasonality in rainwater organic acid concentrations is driven by variations in terrestrial sources. Formic to acetic acid ratios (F:A), previously an indicator of terrestrial versus marine sources of these organic acids, were similar for all back-trajectories reflecting anthropogenic impacts on F:A locally and regionally. The ratios of malonic to succinic acids (M:S), also an indicator of sources for these acids, indicated direct anthropogenic sources for terrestrial back-trajectories and secondary processes for marine back-trajectories. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved