Rates of nitrogen cycling and chemo-autotrophy in the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa ...

• Main Authors: Middelburg, Jack J, Mueller, Christina E, Veuger, Bart, Larsson, Ann I, Form, Armin, van Oevelen, Dick, Mann, Thomas
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2015
• Subjects: Lophelia pertusa
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.855254; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.855254

Cold-water corals (CWC) are widely distributed around the world forming extensive reefs at par with tropical coral reefs. They are hotspots of biodiversity and organic matter processing in the world's deep oceans. Living in the dark they lack photosynthetic symbionts and are therefore considered to depend entirely on the limited flux of organic resources from the surface ocean. While symbiotic relations in tropical corals are known to be key to their survival in oligotrophic conditions, the full metabolic capacity of CWC has yet to be revealed. Here we report isotope tracer evidence for efficient nitrogen recycling, including nitrogen assimilation, regeneration, nitrification and denitrification. Moreover, we also discovered chemoautotrophy and nitrogen fixation in CWC and transfer of fixed nitrogen and inorganic carbon into bulk coral tissue and tissue compounds (fatty acids and amino acids). This unrecognized yet versatile metabolic machinery of CWC conserves precious limiting resources and provides access ... : Supplement to: Middelburg, Jack J; Mueller, Christina E; Veuger, Bart; Larsson, Ann I; Form, Armin; van Oevelen, Dick (2015): Discovery of symbiotic nitrogen fixation and chemoautotrophy in cold-water corals. Scientific Reports, 5(17962) ...