TY - JOUR A1 - Glombitza, Clemens A1 - Stockhecke, Mona A1 - Schubert, Carsten J. A1 - Vetter, Alexandra A1 - Kallmeyer, Jens T1 - Sulfate reduction controlled by organic matter availability in deep sediment cores from the saline, alkaline Lake Van (Eastern Anatolia,Turkey) JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - As part of the International Continental Drilling Program deep lake drilling project Paleo Van, we investigated sulfate reduction (SR) in deep sediment cores of the saline, alkaline (salinity 21.4%0, alkalinity 155 m mEq-1, pH 9.81) Lake Van, Turkey. The cores were retrieved in the Northern Basin (NB) and at Ahlat Ridge (AR) and reached a maximum depth of 220 m. Additionally, 65-75 cm long gravity cores were taken at both sites. SR rates (SRR) were low (<22 nmol cm-3 day-1) compared to lakes with higher salinity and alkalinity, indicating that salinity and alkalinity are not limiting SR in Lake Van. Both sites differ significantly in rates and depth distribution of SR. In NB, SRR are up to 10 times higher than at AR. SR could be detected down to 19 mblf (meters below lake floor) at NB and down to 13 mblf at AR. Although SRR were lower at AR than at NB, organic matter (OM) concentrations were higher. In contrast, dissolved OM in the pore water at AR contained more macromolecular OM and less low molecular weight OM.VVe thus suggest, that OM content alone cannot be used to infer microbial activity at Lake Van but that quality of OM has an important impact as well. These differences suggest that biogeochemical processes in lacustrine sediments are reacting very sensitively to small variations in geological, physical, or chemical parameters over relatively short distances. KW - saline lake KW - alkaline lake KW - sulfate reduction KW - deep biosphere KW - organic matter Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2013.00209 SN - 1664-302X VL - 4 IS - 28 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kallmeyer, Jens A1 - Pockalny, Robert A1 - Adhikari, Rishi Ram A1 - Smith, David C. A1 - D'Hondt, Steven T1 - Global distribution of microbial abundance and biomass in subseafloor sediment JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America N2 - The global geographic distribution of subseafloor sedimentary microbes and the cause(s) of that distribution are largely unexplored. Here, we show that total microbial cell abundance in subseafloor sediment varies between sites by ca. five orders of magnitude. This variation is strongly correlated with mean sedimentation rate and distance from land. Based on these correlations, we estimate global subseafloor sedimentary microbial abundance to be 2.9 center dot 10(29) cells [corresponding to 4.1 petagram (Pg) C and similar to 0.6% of Earth's total living biomass]. This estimate of subseafloor sedimentary microbial abundance is roughly equal to previous estimates of total microbial abundance in seawater and total microbial abundance in soil. It is much lower than previous estimates of subseafloor sedimentary microbial abundance. In consequence, we estimate Earth's total number of microbes and total living biomass to be, respectively, 50-78% and 10-45% lower than previous estimates. KW - deep biosphere KW - cell enumeration KW - global microbial biomass KW - subsurface life Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1203849109 SN - 0027-8424 VL - 109 IS - 40 SP - 16213 EP - 16216 PB - National Acad. of Sciences CY - Washington ER - TY - GEN A1 - Adhikari, Rishi Ram A1 - Glombitza, Clemens A1 - Nickel, Julia C. A1 - Anderson, Chloe H. A1 - Dunlea, Ann G. A1 - Spivack, Arthur J. A1 - Murray, Richard W. A1 - D’Hondt, Steven A1 - Kallmeyer, Jens T1 - Hydrogen utilization potential in subsurface sediments T2 - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - Subsurface microbial communities undertake many terminal electron-accepting processes, often simultaneously. Using a tritium-based assay, we measured the potential hydrogen oxidation catalyzed by hydrogenase enzymes in several subsurface sedimentary environments (Lake Van, Barents Sea, Equatorial Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico) with different predominant electron-acceptors. Hydrogenases constitute a diverse family of enzymes expressed by microorganisms that utilize molecular hydrogen as a metabolic substrate, product, or intermediate. The assay reveals the potential for utilizing molecular hydrogen and allows qualitative detection of microbial activity irrespective of the predominant electron-accepting process. Because the method only requires samples frozen immediately after recovery, the assay can be used for identifying microbial activity in subsurface ecosystems without the need to preserve live material. We measured potential hydrogen oxidation rates in all samples from multiple depths at several sites that collectively span a wide range of environmental conditions and biogeochemical zones. Potential activity normalized to total cell abundance ranges over five orders of magnitude and varies, dependent upon the predominant terminal electron acceptor. Lowest per-cell potential rates characterize the zone of nitrate reduction and highest per-cell potential rates occur in the methanogenic zone. Possible reasons for this relationship to predominant electron acceptor include (i) increasing importance of fermentation in successively deeper biogeochemical zones and (ii) adaptation of H(2)ases to successively higher concentrations of H-2 in successively deeper zones. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 447 KW - hydrogenase KW - tritium assay KW - deep biosphere KW - microbial activity KW - Lake Van KW - Barents Sea KW - Equatorial Pacific KW - Gulf of Mexico Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-407678 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Adhikari, Rishi Ram A1 - Glombitza, Clemens A1 - Nickel, Julia C. A1 - Anderson, Chloe H. A1 - Dunlea, Ann G. A1 - Spivack, Arthur J. A1 - Murray, Richard W. A1 - Kallmeyer, Jens T1 - Hydrogen Utilization Potential in Subsurface Sediments JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - Subsurface microbial communities undertake many terminal electron-accepting processes, often simultaneously. Using a tritium-based assay, we measured the potential hydrogen oxidation catalyzed by hydrogenase enzymes in several subsurface sedimentary environments (Lake Van, Barents Sea, Equatorial Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico) with different predominant electron-acceptors. Hydrogenases constitute a diverse family of enzymes expressed by microorganisms that utilize molecular hydrogen as a metabolic substrate, product, or intermediate. The assay reveals the potential for utilizing molecular hydrogen and allows qualitative detection of microbial activity irrespective of the predominant electron-accepting process. Because the method only requires samples frozen immediately after recovery, the assay can be used for identifying microbial activity in subsurface ecosystems without the need to preserve live material. We measured potential hydrogen oxidation rates in all samples from multiple depths at several sites that collectively span a wide range of environmental conditions and biogeochemical zones. Potential activity normalized to total cell abundance ranges over five orders of magnitude and varies, dependent upon the predominant terminal electron acceptor. Lowest per-cell potential rates characterize the zone of nitrate reduction and highest per-cell potential rates occur in the methanogenic zone. Possible reasons for this relationship to predominant electron acceptor include (i) increasing importance of fermentation in successively deeper biogeochemical zones and (ii) adaptation of H(2)ases to successively higher concentrations of H-2 in successively deeper zones. KW - hydrogenase KW - tritium assay KW - deep biosphere KW - microbial activity KW - Lake Van KW - Barents Sea KW - Equatorial Pacific KW - Gulf of Mexico Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00008 SN - 1664-302X VL - 7 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kallmeyer, Jens A1 - Grewe, Sina A1 - Glombitza, Clemens A1 - Kitte, J. Axel T1 - Microbial abundance in lacustrine sediments BT - a case study from Lake Van, Turkey T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The ICDP "PaleoVan" drilling campaign at Lake Van, Turkey, provided a long (> 100 m) record of lacustrine subsurface sedimentary microbial cell abundance. After the ICDP campaign at Potrok Aike, Argentina, this is only the second time deep lacustrine cell counts have been documented. Two sites were cored and revealed a strikingly similar cell distribution despite differences in organic matter content and microbial activity. Although shifted towards higher values, cell counts from Lake Potrok Aike, Argentina, reveal very similar distribution patterns with depth. The lacustrine cell count data are significantly different from published marine records; the most probable cause is differences in sedimentary organic matter composition with marine sediments containing a higher fraction of labile organic matter. Previous studies showed that microbial activity and abundance increase centimetres to metres around geologic interfaces. The finely laminated Lake Van sediment allowed studying this phenomenon on the microscale. We sampled at the scale of individual laminae, and in some depth intervals, we found large differences in microbial abundance between the different laminae. This small-scale heterogeneity is normally overlooked due to much larger sampling intervals that integrate over several centimetres. However, not all laminated intervals exhibit such large differences in microbial abundance, and some non-laminated horizons show large variability on the millimetre scale as well. The reasons for such contrasting observations remain elusive, but indicate that heterogeneity of microbial abundance in subsurface sediments has not been taken into account sufficiently. These findings have implications not just for microbiological studies but for geochemistry as well, as the large differences in microbial abundance clearly show that there are distinct microhabitats that deviate considerably from the surrounding layers. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 723 KW - subsurface biosphere KW - deep biosphere KW - Lake Van KW - cell counts KW - lacustrine sediment Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-429828 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 723 SP - 1667 EP - 1677 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nagakura, Toshiki A1 - Schubert, Florian A1 - Wagner, Dirk A1 - Kallmeyer, Jens T1 - Biological sulfate reduction in deep subseafloor sediment of Guaymas Basin JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - Sulfate reduction is the quantitatively most important process to degrade organic matter in anoxic marine sediment and has been studied intensively in a variety of settings. Guaymas Basin, a young marginal ocean basin, offers the unique opportunity to study sulfate reduction in an environment characterized by organic-rich sediment, high sedimentation rates, and high geothermal gradients (100-958 degrees C km(-1)). We measured sulfate reduction rates (SRR) in samples taken during the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 385 using incubation experiments with radiolabeled (SO42-)-S-35 carried out at in situ pressure and temperature. The highest SRR (387 nmol cm(-3) d(-1)) was recorded in near-surface sediments from Site U1548C, which had the steepest geothermal gradient (958 degrees C km(-1)). At this site, SRR were generally over an order of magnitude higher than at similar depths at other sites (e.g., 387-157 nmol cm(-3) d(-1) at 1.9 mbsf from Site U1548C vs. 46-1.0 nmol cm(-3) d(-1) at 2.1 mbsf from Site U1552B). Site U1546D is characterized by a sill intrusion, but it had already reached thermal equilibrium and SRR were in the same range as nearby Site U1545C, which is minimally affected by sills. The wide temperature range observed at each drill site suggests major shifts in microbial community composition with very different temperature optima but awaits confirmation by molecular biological analyses. At the transition between the mesophilic and thermophilic range around 40 degrees C-60 degrees C, sulfate-reducing activity appears to be decreased, particularly in more oligotrophic settings, but shows a slight recovery at higher temperatures. KW - sulfate reduction KW - subsurface life KW - deep biosphere KW - thermophiles; KW - Guaymas Basin Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.845250 SN - 1664-302X VL - 13 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER -