AI Article Synopsis
- Photoautotrophs typically use dissolved or atmospheric carbon for growth, but recent findings indicate that certain cyanobacteria can directly utilize solid carbonate minerals for carbon.
- The cyanobacterium Mastigocoleus testarum has been shown to derive most of its carbon from excavating minerals when dissolved carbon is scarce, supporting the idea of mineral-sourced autotrophy.
- Natural communities of cyanobacteria in marine carbonate environments show carbon signatures indicative of this process, suggesting a significant global impact of this mineral-associated carbon fixation since ancient times.
Article Abstract
Photoautotrophs assimilate oxidized carbon obtained from one of two sources: dissolved or atmospheric. Despite its size, the pool of lithospheric carbonate is not known to be a direct source for autotrophy. Yet, the mechanism that euendolithic cyanobacteria use to excavate solid carbonates suggests that minerals could directly supply CO for autotrophy. Here, we use stable isotopes and NanoSIMS to show that the cyanobacterium Mastigocoleus testarum derives most of its carbon from the mineral it excavates, growing preferentially as an endolith when lacking dissolved CO. Furthermore, natural endolithic communities from intertidal marine carbonate outcrops present carbon isotopic signatures consistent with mineral-sourced autotrophy. These data demonstrate a direct geomicrobial link between mineral carbonate pools and reduced organic carbon, which, given the geographical extent of carbonate outcrops, is likely of global relevance. The ancient fossil record of euendolithic cyanobacteria suggests that biological fixation of solid carbonate could have been relevant since the mid-Proterozoic.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5715163 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00703-4 | DOI Listing |
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Article Synopsis
- Photoautotrophs typically use dissolved or atmospheric carbon for growth, but recent findings indicate that certain cyanobacteria can directly utilize solid carbonate minerals for carbon.
- The cyanobacterium Mastigocoleus testarum has been shown to derive most of its carbon from excavating minerals when dissolved carbon is scarce, supporting the idea of mineral-sourced autotrophy.
- Natural communities of cyanobacteria in marine carbonate environments show carbon signatures indicative of this process, suggesting a significant global impact of this mineral-associated carbon fixation since ancient times.
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