Open AccessBicarbonate uptake by marine Crenarchaeota
Author(s) -
Wuchter Cornelia,
Schouten Stefan,
Boschker Henricus T.S.,
Sinninghe Damsté Jaap S.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1016/s0378-1097(03)00060-0
Subject(s) - crenarchaeota , bicarbonate , archaea , biology , biochemistry , chemistry , environmental chemistry , endocrinology , gene
Biphytanyl membrane lipids and 16S rRNA sequences derived from marine Crenarchaeota were detected in shallow North Sea surface water in February 2002. To investigate the carbon fixation mechanism of these uncultivated archaea in situ 13 C bicarbonate tracer experiments were performed with this water in the absence of light. About 70% of the detected 13 C incorporation into lipids (including fatty acids and sterols) is accounted for by the crenarchaeotal biphytanyl membrane lipids. This finding indicates that marine Crenarchaeota can utilize bicarbonate or CO 2 derived thereof in the absence of light and are chemoautotrophic organisms.