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    Fossilization and degradation of archaeal intact polar tetraether lipids in deeply buried marine sediments (Peru Margin)

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    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Lengger, Sabine
    Hopmans, E.
    Sinninghe Damste, J.
    Schouten, S.
    Date
    2014
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
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    Citation
    Lengger, S. and Hopmans, E. and Sinninghe Damste, J. and Schouten, S. 2014. Fossilization and degradation of archaeal intact polar tetraether lipids in deeply buried marine sediments (Peru Margin). Geobiology. 12: pp. 212-220.
    Source Title
    Geobiology
    DOI
    10.1111/gbi.12081
    ISSN
    1472-4677
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17385
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) lipids are part of the cellular membranes of Thaumarchaeota, an archaeal phylum composed of aerobic ammonia oxidizers, and are used in the paleotemperature proxy TEX86. GDGTs in live cells possess polar head groups and are called intact polar lipids (IPL-GDGTs). Their transformation to core lipids (CL) by cleavage of the head group was assumed to proceed rapidly after cell death, but it has been suggested that some of these IPL-GDGTs can, just like the CL-GDGTs, be preserved over geological timescales. Here, we examined IPL-GDGTs in deeply buried (0.2–186 mbsf, ~2.5 Myr) sediments from the Peru Margin. Direct measurements of the most abundant IPL-GDGT, IPL-crenarchaeol, specific for Thaumarchaeota, revealed depth profiles, which differed per head group. Shallow sediments (<1 mbsf) contained IPL-crenarchaeol with both glycosidic and phosphate head groups, as also observed in thaumarchaeal enrichment cultures, marine suspended particulate matter and marine surface sediments. However, hexose, phosphohexose-crenarchaeol is not detected anymore below 6 mbsf (~7 kyr), suggesting a high lability.In contrast, IPL-crenarchaeol with glycosidic head groups is preserved over timescales of Myr. This agrees with previous analyses of deeply buried (>1 m) marine sediments, which only reported glycosidic and no phosphate-containing IPL-GDGTs. TEX86 values of CL-GDGTs did not markedly change with depth, and the TEX86 of IPL-derived GDGTs decreased only when the proportions of monohexose- to dihexose-GDGTs changed, likely due to the enhanced preservation of the monohexose GDGTs. Our results support the hypothesis that in situ GDGT production and differential IPL degradation in sediments is not substantially affecting TEX86 paleotemperature estimations based on CL–GDGTs and indicates that likely only a small amount of IPL-GDGTs present in deeply buried sediments is part of cell membranes of active archaea. The amount of archaeal biomass in the deep biosphere based on these IPLs may have been substantially overestimated.

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    • Impact of sedimentary degradation and deep water column production on GDGT abundance and distribution in surface sediments in the Arabian Sea: Implications for the TEX86 paleothermometer
      Lengger, Sabine; Hopmans, E.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.; Schouten, S. (2014)
      The TEX86 is a widely used paleotemperature proxy based on isoprenoid glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) produced by Thaumarchaeota. Archaeal membranes are composed of GDGTs with polar head groups (IPL-GDGTs), ...
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      Lengger, Sabine; Hopmans, E.; Damste, S.; Schouten, S. (2012)
      Glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether-based intact polar lipids (IPL GDGTs) are used as biomarkers for living Archaea and are analyzed utilizing a variety of extraction and quantification techniques. Most IPL GDGT ...
    • Differential degradation of intact polar and core glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether lipids upon post-depositional oxidation
      Lengger, Sabine; Kraaij, M.; Tjallingii, R.; Baas, M.; Stuut, J.; Hopmans, E.; Damste, J.; Schouten, S. (2013)
      Archaeal and bacterial glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether lipids (GDGTs) are used in various proxies, such as TEX86 and the BIT index. In living organism, they contain polar head groups (intact polar lipids – IPLs). IPL ...
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