The oceanic budgets of nickel and zinc isotopes: the importance of sulfidic environments as illustrated by the Black Sea.

Isotopic data collected to date as part of the GEOTRACES and other programmes show that the oceanic dissolved pool is isotopically heavy relative to the inputs for zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni). All Zn sinks measured until recently, and the only output yet measured for Ni, are isotopically heavier than the dissolved pool. This would require either a non-steady-state ocean or other unidentified sinks.

A first analysis of metallome biosignatures of hyperthermophilic Archaea.

To date, no experimental data has been reported for the metallome of hyperthermophilic microorganisms although their metal requirements for growth are known to be unique. Here, experiments were conducted to determine (i) cellular trace metal concentrations of the hyperthermophilic Archaea Methanococcus jannaschii and Pyrococcus furiosus, and (ii) a first estimate of the metallome for these hyperthermophilic species via ICP-MS. The metal contents of these cells were compared to parallel experiments using the mesophilic bacterium Escherichia coli grown under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

A biomarker based on the stable isotopes of nickel.

The new stable isotope systems of transition metals are increasingly used to understand and quantify the impact of primitive microbial metabolisms on the modern and ancient Earth. To date, little effort has been expended on nickel (Ni) isotopes but there are good reasons to believe that this system may be more straightforward, and useful in this respect, than some others. Here, we present Ni stable isotope data for abiotic terrestrial samples and pure cultures of methanogens.