Aerobic Microbial Respiration In Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones.

Oxygen minimum zones are major sites of fixed nitrogen loss in the ocean. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of anaerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox, in pelagic nitrogen removal. Sources of ammonium for the anammox reaction, however, remain controversial, as heterotrophic denitrificatio...

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Main Authors: Tim Kalvelage, Gaute Lavik, Marlene M Jensen, Niels Peter Revsbech, Carolin Löscher, Harald Schunck, Dhwani K Desai, Helena Hauss, Rainer Kiko, Moritz Holtappels, Julie LaRoche, Ruth A Schmitz, Michelle I Graco, Marcel M M Kuypers
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4507870?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-14fbc9ba0fe14ea098b0ab50d98872c52020-11-25T02:50:45ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01107e013352610.1371/journal.pone.0133526Aerobic Microbial Respiration In Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones.Tim KalvelageGaute LavikMarlene M JensenNiels Peter RevsbechCarolin LöscherHarald SchunckDhwani K DesaiHelena HaussRainer KikoMoritz HoltappelsJulie LaRocheRuth A SchmitzMichelle I GracoMarcel M M KuypersOxygen minimum zones are major sites of fixed nitrogen loss in the ocean. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of anaerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox, in pelagic nitrogen removal. Sources of ammonium for the anammox reaction, however, remain controversial, as heterotrophic denitrification and alternative anaerobic pathways of organic matter remineralization cannot account for the ammonium requirements of reported anammox rates. Here, we explore the significance of microaerobic respiration as a source of ammonium during organic matter degradation in the oxygen-deficient waters off Namibia and Peru. Experiments with additions of double-labelled oxygen revealed high aerobic activity in the upper OMZs, likely controlled by surface organic matter export. Consistently observed oxygen consumption in samples retrieved throughout the lower OMZs hints at efficient exploitation of vertically and laterally advected, oxygenated waters in this zone by aerobic microorganisms. In accordance, metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses identified genes encoding for aerobic terminal oxidases and demonstrated their expression by diverse microbial communities, even in virtually anoxic waters. Our results suggest that microaerobic respiration is a major mode of organic matter remineralization and source of ammonium (~45-100%) in the upper oxygen minimum zones, and reconcile hitherto observed mismatches between ammonium producing and consuming processes therein.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4507870?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Tim Kalvelage
Gaute Lavik
Marlene M Jensen
Niels Peter Revsbech
Carolin Löscher
Harald Schunck
Dhwani K Desai
Helena Hauss
Rainer Kiko
Moritz Holtappels
Julie LaRoche
Ruth A Schmitz
Michelle I Graco
Marcel M M Kuypers
spellingShingle Tim Kalvelage
Gaute Lavik
Marlene M Jensen
Niels Peter Revsbech
Carolin Löscher
Harald Schunck
Dhwani K Desai
Helena Hauss
Rainer Kiko
Moritz Holtappels
Julie LaRoche
Ruth A Schmitz
Michelle I Graco
Marcel M M Kuypers
Aerobic Microbial Respiration In Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Tim Kalvelage
Gaute Lavik
Marlene M Jensen
Niels Peter Revsbech
Carolin Löscher
Harald Schunck
Dhwani K Desai
Helena Hauss
Rainer Kiko
Moritz Holtappels
Julie LaRoche
Ruth A Schmitz
Michelle I Graco
Marcel M M Kuypers
author_sort Tim Kalvelage
title Aerobic Microbial Respiration In Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones.
title_short Aerobic Microbial Respiration In Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones.
title_full Aerobic Microbial Respiration In Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones.
title_fullStr Aerobic Microbial Respiration In Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones.
title_full_unstemmed Aerobic Microbial Respiration In Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones.
title_sort aerobic microbial respiration in oceanic oxygen minimum zones.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2015-01-01
description Oxygen minimum zones are major sites of fixed nitrogen loss in the ocean. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of anaerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox, in pelagic nitrogen removal. Sources of ammonium for the anammox reaction, however, remain controversial, as heterotrophic denitrification and alternative anaerobic pathways of organic matter remineralization cannot account for the ammonium requirements of reported anammox rates. Here, we explore the significance of microaerobic respiration as a source of ammonium during organic matter degradation in the oxygen-deficient waters off Namibia and Peru. Experiments with additions of double-labelled oxygen revealed high aerobic activity in the upper OMZs, likely controlled by surface organic matter export. Consistently observed oxygen consumption in samples retrieved throughout the lower OMZs hints at efficient exploitation of vertically and laterally advected, oxygenated waters in this zone by aerobic microorganisms. In accordance, metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses identified genes encoding for aerobic terminal oxidases and demonstrated their expression by diverse microbial communities, even in virtually anoxic waters. Our results suggest that microaerobic respiration is a major mode of organic matter remineralization and source of ammonium (~45-100%) in the upper oxygen minimum zones, and reconcile hitherto observed mismatches between ammonium producing and consuming processes therein.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4507870?pdf=render
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