extraction-and-analysis-of-microbial-phospholipid-fatty-acids-in-soils

Extraction and Analysis of Microbial Phospholipid Fatty Acids in Soils

Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) are key components of microbial cell membranes. The analysis of PLFAs extracted from soils can provide information about ...

University of Alberta

Naphthenic acids are components of most petroleums, including those found in the Athabasca Oil Sands of northeastern Alberta. Some naphthenic acids that are solubilized during bitumen extraction from oil sands are acutely toxic to a variety of organisms. Four-month enrichment cultures obtained from the rhizospheres of five plant species native to Alberta, and established with the addition of bitumen (0.5%) as the sole carbon source, revealed a high potential for aerobic degradation of a Merichem commercial preparation of naphthenic acids. Changes in the concentration and composition of the naphthenic acids mixtures during incubation were followed using high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-electron impact mass spectrometry. Concentrations did not significantly change in the sterile control, but they decreased by up to 90% after 10 days of incubation in the viable cultures. Lower molecular mass naphthenic acids were preferentially degraded, while the proportion of high molecular mass acids increased during incubation. By day 17, the most abundant ions were derived from cellular membranes, corresponding to an increase in microbial numbers in the cultures as naphthenic acids were metabolized. This study is the first to demonstrate the biodegradation potential of microorganisms from rhizosphere soils to biodegrade naphthenic acids.

Biodegradation of naphthenic acids by rhizosphere microorganisms.

Enriching plant tissues with (13)C and (15)N isotopes has provided long-lasting, non-reactive tracers to quantify rates of terrestrial elemental fluxes (e.g., soil organic matter decomposition). However, the molecular location and level of isotope enrichment may differ among plant tissues. This factor is central to the integrity and interpretation of tracer data, but is seldom considered in experiments. We propose a rapid, non-destructive method to quantify molecular isotope allocation using solid-state (13)C and (15)N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. With this method, we tracked and quantified the fate of multiple pulses of (13)CO(2)(g) and K (15)NO(3)(l) in boreal tree seedling roots and leaves as a function of time. Results show that initial preferential (13)C carbohydrate enrichment in the leaves was followed by redistribution to more complex compounds after seven days. While (13)C allocation within the roots was uniform across molecules, (15)N results indicate an initial enrichment of amine molecules after two hours.

Tracking stable isotope enrichment in tree seedlings with solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Understory plant communities play critical ecological roles in forest ecosystems. Both above- and below-ground ecosystem properties and processes influence these communities but relatively little is known about such effects at fine (i.e., one to several meters within-stand) scales, particularly for forests in which the canopy is dominated by a single species. An improved understanding of these effects is critical for understanding how understory biodiversity is regulated in such forests and for anticipating impacts of changing disturbance regimes. Our primary objective was to examine the patterns of fine-scale variation in understory plant communities and their relationships to above- and below-ground resource and environmental heterogeneity within mature lodgepole pine forests. We assessed composition and diversity of understory vegetation in relation to heterogeneity of both the above-ground (canopy tree density, canopy and tall shrub basal area and cover, downed wood biomass, litter cover) and below-ground (soil nutrient availability, decomposition, forest floor thickness, pH, and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and multiple carbon-source substrate-induced respiration (MSIR) of the forest floor microbial community) environment. There was notable variation in fine-scale plant community composition; cluster and indicator species analyses of the 24 most commonly occurring understory species distinguished four assemblages, one for which a pioneer forb species had the highest cover levels, and three others that were characterized by different bryophyte species having the highest cover. Constrained ordination (distance-based redundancy analysis) showed that two above-ground (mean tree diameter, litter cover) and eight below-ground (forest floor pH, plant available boron, microbial community composition and function as indicated by MSIR and PLFAs) properties were associated with variation in understory plant community composition. These results provide novel insights into the important ecological associations between understory plant community composition and heterogeneity in ecosystem properties and processes within forests dominated by a single canopy species.

Understory Plant Community Composition Is Associated with Fine-Scale Above- and Below-Ground Resource Heterogeneity in Mature Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) Forests.

Article	Year
Biodegradation of naphthenic acids by rhizosphere microorganisms. Chemosphere\| PubMed ID: 17250872	2007
Tracking stable isotope enrichment in tree seedlings with solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Scientific reports\| PubMed ID: 23056911	2012
Understory Plant Community Composition Is Associated with Fine-Scale Above- and Below-Ground Resource Heterogeneity in Mature Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) Forests. PloS one\| PubMed ID: 26975055	2016

Sylvie A. Quideau

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