Microbial ecology articles within Nature Geoscience

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Glacier shrinkage intensifies phosphorus limitation but alleviates carbon limitation in glacier-fed streams, according to analyses of resource stoichiometry and microbial metabolism in glacier-fed streams from mountain regions.

    • Tyler J. Kohler
    • , Massimo Bourquin
    •  & Tom J. Battin

  • Perspective |

    Exoenzymes produced by heterotrophic microorganisms early in Earth history helped unlock previously unavailable organic matter and transformed ocean geochemistry.

    • Nagissa Mahmoudi
    • , Andrew D. Steen
    •  & Kurt O. Konhauser

  • Editorial |

    Marine phytoplankton both follow and actively influence the environment they inhabit. Unpacking the complex ecological and biogeochemical roles of these tiny organisms can help reveal the workings of the Earth system.

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Rotational deceleration has increased daylength on Earth, potentially linking the increased burial of organic carbon by cyanobacterial mats and planetary oxygenation, according to experiments and modelling of Precambrian benthic ecosystems.

    • J. M. Klatt
    • , A. Chennu
    •  & G. J. Dick

  • Review Article |

    The abundance of microorganisms in the continental subsurface may have been overestimated, according to a review compilation of data from subsurface localities around the globe.

    • C. Magnabosco
    • , L.-H. Lin
    •  & T. C. Onstott

  • Article |

    Subglacial lakes contain active microbial ecosystems capable of cycling methane. In a subglacial lake in West Antarctica, methane that is produced is subsequently consumed, limiting the potential for methane emissions during lake drainage.

    • Alexander B. Michaud
    • , John E. Dore
    •  & John C. Priscu

  • Article |

    Microbes are expected to prefer substrates with the highest energy yield. Laboratory experiments demonstrate that a metabolically flexible archaeon exhibits preference for and greater growth from lower energy substrates.

    • Maximiliano J. Amenabar
    • , Everett L. Shock
    •  & Eric S. Boyd

  • Article |

    Glacial systems are important sources of dissolved organic carbon to downstream ecosystems. Observations of carbon dynamics on the Greenland ice sheet reveal substantial melt season production and export of microbial dissolved organic carbon.

    • Michaela Musilova
    • , Martyn Tranter
    •  & Alexandre M. Anesio

  • News & Views |

    Organic carbon decomposition in anoxic marine sediments was thought to be dominated by bacteria, but experimental data and microbial culture studies now show that microalgae buried in coastal sands may also play an important role in carbon turnover.

    • Alexandra Rao

  • News & Views |

    Mercury is a toxic element with no known biological function. Laboratory studies demonstrate that mercury can be beneficial to microbial growth by acting as an electron acceptor during photosynthesis.

    • Jeffra K. Schaefer

  • Letter |

    Microbes live under glaciers that have persisted for millions of years, without a clear energy supply. Analyses of crushed rocks suggest that interactions of glaciers with the rocks beneath can produce enough H2 to support methanogenic bacteria.

    • J. Telling
    • , E. S. Boyd
    •  & D. A. Hodgson

  • Letter |

    Methanotrophic bacteria can consume methane emitted from the ocean floor before it reaches the atmosphere. Variations in coastal currents can reduce methane oxidation in the ocean by limiting methanotroph residence time above methane seeps.

    • Lea Steinle
    • , Carolyn A. Graves
    •  & Helge Niemann

  • News & Views |

    Deep abyssal clay sediments in organic-poor regions of the ocean present challenging conditions for life. Techniques for identifying cells at extremely low concentrations demonstrate that aerobic microbes are found throughout these deep clays in as much of 37% of the global ocean.

    • Beth N. Orcutt

  • Commentary |

    Today, the ratio of carbon to nitrogen and phosphorus in marine organic matter is relatively constant. But this ratio probably varied during the Earth's history as a consequence of changes in the phytoplankton community and ocean oxygen levels.

    • Noah J. Planavsky

  • Letter |

    Wrinkle structures in ancient sedimentary environments are enigmatic. Wave-tank experiments suggest that wrinkle structures are shaped by microbial mat fragments that are moved by waves over sandy-bed surfaces, and thus are morphological biosignatures.

    • G. Mariotti
    • , S. B. Pruss
    •  & T. Bosak

  • Review Article |

    Coastal upwelling regimes associated with eastern boundary currents are the most biologically productive ecosystems in the ocean. A suite of human-induced changes could perturb primary production and nutrient cycling in these highly dynamic systems.

    • Douglas G. Capone
    •  & David A. Hutchins

  • Article |

    Mercury enters marine food webs in the form of microbially generated monomethylmercury. An analysis of the mercury isotopic composition of nine species of North Pacific fish suggests that microbial production of monomethylmercury below the surface mixed layer contributes significantly to the mercury contamination of marine food webs.

    • Joel D. Blum
    • , Brian N. Popp
    •  & Marcus W. Johnson

  • News & Views |

    Wetlands are home to microorganisms that produce and emit methane. Very small wetlands, tucked into unexpected places, might be making a larger contribution to the global methane budget than previously thought.

    • Joseph B. Yavitt

  • Letter |

    The loss of carbon dioxide from soils increases initially under climate warming, but tends to decline to control levels within a few years. Simulations of the soil-carbon response to warming with a microbial-enzyme model show that a decline in both microbial biomass and the production of degrading enzymes can explain this attenuation response.

    • Steven D. Allison
    • , Matthew D. Wallenstein
    •  & Mark A. Bradford

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