Crenarchaea and phytoplankton coupling in sedimentary archives: Common trigger or metabolic dependence?

• Published in: Limnology and Oceanography
• Main Authors: Fietz, Susanne, Martínez-Garcia, Alfredo, Rueda, Gemma, Peck, Victoria L., Huguet, Carme, Escala, Marina, Rosell-Melé, Antoni
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: American Society of Limnology and Oceanography 2011
• Subjects: Marine Sciences; Biology and Microbiology; Arctic; Phytoplankton
• Online Access: http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/15293/; http://www.aslo.org/lo/toc/vol_56/issue_5/1907.html

The concentrations of chlorins (chlorophyll transformation products indicative of phytoplankton production) and crenarchaeol (a marker for Crenarchaea abundance) are significantly positively correlated (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient r(s) > 0.75) in four core records from freshwater (Lake Baikal) and marine settings (Southern, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans). This suggests a close relationship between Crenarchaea abundance and phytoplankton production. Degradation and transport mechanisms, as well as a common environmental trigger, may in part account for our observations, but these mechanisms alone cannot fully explain them. Instead our findings point to a metabolic dependence of Crenarchaea on resources released by phytoplankton, such as organic carbon or ammonium.