Little is known about the molecular composition of the biodegradable fraction of dissolved organic matter (BDOM) in stream ecosystems. We combined plug-flow biofilm reactors, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) thermochemolysis GC-MS, and 13C-labeled TMAH thermochemolysis GC-MS to study the molecular composition of BDOM from two stream ecosystems. TMAH products derived from fatty acids, lignin, and other aromatic molecules were quantified using an internal standard approach. We applied the 13C-TMAH thermochemolysis procedure to differentiate between compounds in dissolved organic matter (DOM) that had natural methoxyl groups from those that acquired methoxyl groups during the TMAH reaction. In Rio Tempisquito, a stream draining a tropical evergreen forest, and White Clay Creek, a stream draining a temperate deciduous woodlands, carbohydrates, fatty acids, and lignin contributed to the DOM and BDOM molecular composition. We observed 97 different peaks in the chromatograms of streamwater, with 57% of the peaks common to both streams. The DOM and BDOM pools from each site also contained a unique suite of compounds. Our combined use of TMAH and 13C-TMAH thermochemolysis revealed that heterotrophic bacteria can selectively degrade and demethylate different types of compounds in the lignin residues of DOM. This demonstration of bacterial demethylation of lignin, an abundant and refractory plant molecule, has potential implications for global carbon cycling.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es0494959 | DOI Listing |
Sci Total Environ
January 2025
China National Environmental Monitoring Centre, Beijing 100012, China.
The riverine dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool constitutes the largest and most dynamic organic carbon reservoir within inland aquatic systems. Human activities significantly alter the distribution of organic matter (OM) in rivers, thereby affecting the availability of DOM. However, the impact of total suspended solids (TSS) on DOM under anthropogenic influence remains insufficiently elucidated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
January 2025
College of Environment and Ecology, Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400045, China. Electronic address:
The increasing frequency of cyanobacterial blooms, particularly those induced by Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa), poses severe economic, ecological and health challenges due to the production of microcystins (MCs). Environmental parameters such as light and nutrient availability influence MCs production, while the role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) photochemical processes in regulating these remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
December 2024
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agro-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling 712100, China. Electronic address:
The interactions between microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter (MPs-DOM) and heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and Cd) regulate the complex environmental transport behavior of pollutants in terrestrial and aquatic environments. In this study, fluorescence excited emission matrix spectroscopy combined with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) and electrospray ionization coupled Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR MS) were employed to investigate the complexation mechanism of MPs-DOM with heavy metals, as well as the effects of different environmental occurrences of MPs-DOM on the transport behaviors of heavy metals in saturated porous medium. The findings demonstrated that MPs-DOM, particularly humic-like substances containing aromatic structures and various oxygen functional groups, could form stable complexes with heavy metals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
Sunlight irradiation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in surface water results in the production of photochemically produced reactive intermediates (PPRIs). This process is inevitably influenced by co-existing metal ions in aquatic environments; However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, the effect of co-existing copper ion (Cu) on PPRIs produced by irradiation of DOM was systematically investigated, because Cu is a typical redox transient cation and has strong affinity to DOM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
January 2025
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Sichuan, Chengdu 611756, China. Electronic address:
The ultraviolet-activated peroxymosnofulate (UV/PMS) system, an effective advanced oxidation process for removing dissolved organic matter (DOM) from wastewater, is limited by high chloride ion (Cl) concentrations in landfill leachate. This study used Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry to explore the transformation of DOM in the UV/PMS system with a high Cl concentration. The results revealed that elevated Cl levels generate reactive chlorine species, including chlorine radicals, dichlorine radicals, and hypochlorous acid/hypochlorite, reducing the total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency of Suwannee River natural organic matter (SRNOM) from 78.
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