Arnaud Huguet

An interlaboratory study of TEX86 and BIT analysis of sediments, extracts, and standard mixtures

Two commonly used proxies based on the distribution of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) are the TEX86 (TetraEther indeX of 86 carbon atoms) paleothermometer for sea surface temperature reconstructions and the BIT (Branched Isoprenoid Tetraether) index for reconstructing soil organic matter input to the ocean. An initial round-robin study of two sediment extracts, in which 15 laboratories participated, showed relatively consistent TEX86 values (reproducibility +/- 3-4 degrees C when translated to temperature) but a large spread in BIT measurements (reproducibility +/- 0.41 on a scale of 0-1). Here we report results of a second round-robin study with 35 laboratories in which three sediments, one sediment extract, and two mixtures of pure, isolated GDGTs were analyzed. The results for TEX86 and BIT index showed improvement compared to the previous round-robin study. The reproducibility, indicating interlaboratory variation, of TEX86 values ranged from 1.3 to 3.0 degrees C when translated to temperature. These results are similar to those of other temperature proxies used in paleoceanography. Comparison of the results obtained from one of the three sediments showed that TEX86 and BIT indices are not significantly affected by interlaboratory differences in sediment extraction techniques. BIT values of the sediments and extracts were at the extremes of the index with values close to 0 or 1, and showed good reproducibility (ranging from 0.013 to 0.042). However, the measured BIT values for the two GDGT mixtures, with known molar ratios of crenarchaeol and branched GDGTs, had intermediate BIT values and showed poor reproducibility and a large overestimation of the true (i.e., molar-based) BIT index. The latter is likely due to, among other factors, the higher mass spectrometric response of branched GDGTs compared to crenarchaeol, which also varies among mass spectrometers. Correction for this different mass spectrometric response showed a considerable improvement in the reproducibility of BIT index measurements among laboratories, as well as a substantially improved estimation of molar-based BIT values. This suggests that standard mixtures should be used in order to obtain consistent, and molar-based, BIT values.

Disentangling interactions between microbial communities and roots in deep subsoil

Soils, paleosols and terrestrial sediments serve as archives for studying climate change, and represent important terrestrial carbon pools. Archive functioning relies on the chronological integrity of the respective units. Incorporation of younger organic matter (OM) e.g. by plant roots and associated microorganisms into deep subsoil and underlying soil parent material may reduce reliability of paleoenvironmental records and stability of buried OM. Long-term effects of sedimentary characteristics and deep rooting on deep subsoil microbial communities remain largely unknown. We characterized fossil and living microbial communities based on molecular markers in a Central European Late Pleistocene loess-paleosol sequence containing recent and ancient roots with ages of several millenia. The molecular approach, comprising free and phospholipid fatty acids (FAs), core and intact polar glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), as well as 16S rRNA genes from bacterial DNA, revealed the presence of living microorganisms along the sequence, with bacterial community composition comparable to that of modern topsoils. Up to 88% redundancy between bacterial genetic fingerprint and molecular signature of fossil microorganisms suggested a time-integrated signal of the molecular markers accumulated over a time span potentially lasting from sedimentation over one or more rooting phases until today. Free FAs, core GDGTs and DNA, considered as remains of fossil microorganisms, corresponded with ancient and recent root quantities, whereas phospholipid FAs and intact polar GDGTs, presumably derived from living microorganisms, correlated only with living roots. The biogeochemical and ecological disequilibrium induced by postsedimentary rooting may entail long-term microbial processes like OM mineralization, which may continue even millenia after the lifetime of the root. Deep roots and their fossil remains have been observed in various terrestrial settings, and roots as well as associated microorganisms cause both, OM incorporation and mineralization. Therefore, these findings are crucial for improved understanding of OM dynamics and carbon sequestration potential in deep subsoils.