Light rare earth element depletion during Deepwater Horizon blowout methanotrophy.

Rare earth elements have generally not been thought to have a biological role. However, recent work has demonstrated that the light REEs (LREEs: La, Ce, Pr, and Nd) are essential for at least some methanotrophs, being co-factors in the XoxF type of methanol dehydrogenase (MDH). We show here that dissolved LREEs were significantly removed in a submerged plume of methane-rich water during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) well blowout. Furthermore, incubation experiments conducted with naturally methane-enriched waters from hydrocarbon seeps in the vicinity of the DWH wellhead also showed LREE removal concurrent with methane consumption. Metagenomic sequencing of incubation samples revealed that LREE-containing MDHs were present. Our field and laboratory observations provide further insight into the biochemical pathways of methanotrophy during the DWH blowout. Additionally, our results are the first observations of direct biological alteration of REE distributions in oceanic systems. In view of the ubiquity of LREE-containing MDHs in oceanic systems, our results suggest that biological uptake of LREEs is an overlooked aspect of the oceanic geochemistry of this group of elements previously thought to be biologically inactive and an unresolved factor in the flux of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from the ocean.

Perfil de ácidos graxos do leite de cabras leiteiras alimentadas com dieta contendo dois níveis de óleo de arroz / Production and milk composition of dairy goats receiving two levels of rice bran oil in the diet

Foram testados os efeitos de dois níveis de extrato etéreo à base de óleo de arroz no concentrado em 30 cabras Saanen durante a fase inicial de lactação. A alimentação baseou-se na relação 60% de volumoso (feno de alfafa) e 40% de concentrado comercial com dois níveis de extrato etéreo (3% e 5%). As variáveis estudadas foram a quantificação e qualificação do perfil de ácidos graxos do leite total e frente ao tempo de lactação. O acréscimo de óleo de arroz na dieta diminuiu (P<0,05) a concentração de ácidos graxos saturados e aumentou (P<0,05) a concentração de ácidos graxos poli-insaturados no leite caprino. O ácido linoleico conjugado (ALC) também é afetado positivamente pelo acréscimo de óleo de arroz na dieta. A inclusão de óleo de arroz nos níveis de 3% e 5% da matéria seca, na dieta de cabras leiteiras da raça Saanen, influencia o perfil de ácidos graxos do leite, com ênfase no ALC, até a 11ª semana de lactação.

The effects of two levels of ether extract based on rice oil concentrate in 30 Saanen goats during early lactation were evaluated. The feeding was based on the ratio of 60% forage (alfalfa hay) and 40% commercial concentrate with two levels of lipids (3% and 5%). The variables were the quantification and qualification of the fatty acid profile of whole milk and forward to the time of lactation. The addition of rice bran oil in the diet decreased significantly (P<0.05) the concentration of saturated fatty acids and increased (P<0.05) the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids in goats' milk. The linoleic acid was also positively affected by the addition of rice bran oil in the diet. The inclusion of rice bran oil at levels of 3% and 5% of dry matter in the diet of Saanen dairy goats influences the fatty acid profile of milk, with emphasis on linoleic acid until the 11th week of lactation.

The methane cycle in ferruginous Lake Matano.

In Lake Matano, Indonesia, the world's largest known ferruginous basin, more than 50% of authigenic organic matter is degraded through methanogenesis, despite high abundances of Fe (hydr)oxides in the lake sediments. Biogenic CH4 accumulates to high concentrations (up to 1.4 mmol L⁻¹) in the anoxic bottom waters, which contain a total of 7.4 × 105 tons of CH4. Profiles of dissolved inorganic carbon (ΣCO2) and carbon isotopes (δ¹³C) show that CH4 is oxidized in the vicinity of the persistent pycnocline and that some of this CH4 is likely oxidized anaerobically. The dearth of NO3⁻ and SO4²â» in Lake Matano waters suggests that anaerobic methane oxidation may be coupled to the reduction of Fe (and/or Mn) (hydr)oxides. Thermodynamic considerations reveal that CH4 oxidation coupled to Fe(III) or Mn(III/IV) reduction would yield sufficient free energy to support microbial growth at the substrate levels present in Lake Matano. Flux calculations imply that Fe and Mn must be recycled several times directly within the water column to balance the upward flux of CH4. 16S gene cloning identified methanogens in the anoxic water column, and these methanogens belong to groups capable of both acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. We find that methane is important in C cycling, even in this very Fe-rich environment. Such Fe-rich environments are rare on Earth today, but they are analogous to conditions in the ferruginous oceans thought to prevail during much of the Archean Eon. By analogy, methanogens and methanotrophs could have formed an important part of the Archean Ocean ecosystem.

A Critical Evaluation of Interlaboratory Data on Total, Elemental, and Isotopic Carbon in the Carbonaceous Particle Reference Material, NIST SRM 1649a.

Because of increased interest in the marine and atmospheric sciences in elemental carbon (EC), or black carbon (BC) or soot carbon (SC), and because of the difficulties in analyzing or even defining this pervasive component of particulate carbon, it has become quite important to have appropriate reference materials for intercomparison and quality control. The NIST "urban dust" Standard Reference Material(®) SRM 1649a is useful in this respect, in part because it comprises a considerable array of inorganic and organic species, and because it exhibits a large degree of ((14)C) isotopic heterogeneity, with biomass carbon source contributions ranging from about 2 % (essentially fossil aliphatic fraction) to about 32 % (polar fraction). A primary purpose of this report is to provide documentation for the new isotopic and chemical particulate carbon data for the most recent (31 Jan. 2001) SRM 1649a Certificate of Analysis. Supporting this is a critical review of underlying international intercomparison data and methodologies, provided by 18 teams of analytical experts from 11 institutions. Key results of the intercomparison are: (1) a new, Certified Value for total carbon (TC) in SRM 1649a; (2) (14)C Reference Values for total carbon and a number of organic species, including for the first time 8 individual PAHs; and (3) elemental carbon (EC) Information Values derived from 13 analytical methods applied to this component. Results for elemental carbon, which comprised a special focus of the intercomparison, were quite diverse, reflecting the confounding of methodological-matrix artifacts, and methods that tended to probe more or less refractory regions of this universal, but ill-defined product of incomplete combustion. Availability of both chemical and (14)C speciation data for SRM 1649a holds great promise for improved analytical insight through comparative analysis (e.g., fossil/biomass partition in EC compared to PAH), and through application of the principle of isotopic mass balance.