Identification of polar lipid precursors of the ubiquitous branched GDGT orphan lipids in a peat bog in Northern Germany
Abstract
Two types of intact branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) were detected in peat bog samples from Bullenmoor, Northern Germany. Glucuronosyl and glucosyl branched GDGTs comprise on average ca. 4% of the microbial intact polar lipids in the anoxic, acidic peat layer ca. 20 cm below the surface of the bog, suggesting an important ecological role for the source microorganisms. No corresponding phospholipids were detected. Notably, glycosidic branched GDGTs are 5–10 times less abundant than their intact isoprenoid counterparts derived from Archaea, while branched GDGT core lipids exceed their isoprenoid analogues by about an order of magnitude. These contrasting relationships may reflect lower standing stocks of the biomass of producers of branched GDGTs, combined with higher population growth rates relative to soil Archaea. Search strategies for the microbial producers of these conspicuous orphan lipids should benefit from the discovery of their intact polar precursors.
Additional Information
© 2010 Elsevier Ltd. Received 4 December 2009; revised 30 March 2010; accepted 13 April 2010. Associate Editor—P. Schaeffer. Available online 24 April 2010. We thank Dr. J. Blankenburg for support and providing information on sample location and the lower Saxony nature conservation authority of Landkreis Rotenburg for granting permission to access and sample Bullenmoor. We thank Dr. Lipp, Dr. Schubotz, Dr. Lin and Mr. Prieto for help with experimental and data analysis. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments. Funding was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through the international graduate college EUROPROX for X.-L.L., a Heisenberg fellowship to G.J.M.V., an ESF-MOCCHA grant to A.L. and through MARUM in form of a summer student fellowship to A.G. and general laboratory infrastructure.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 19291
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20100805-095646251
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
- ESF-MOCCHA
- MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences
- Created
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2010-08-05Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-08Created from EPrint's last_modified field