Microbial acetone oxidation in coastal seawater

Dixon, JL, Beale, R, Sargeant, SL, Tarran, GA and Nightingale, PD 2014 Microbial acetone oxidation in coastal seawater. Frontiers in Microbiology, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2014.00243

[img]
Preview
Text
fmicb-05-00243.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (1MB) | Preview
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2014.00243

Abstract/Summary

Acetone is an important oxygenated volatile organic compound (OVOC) in the troposphere where it influences the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere. However, the air-sea flux is not well quantified, in part due to a lack of knowledge regarding which processes control oceanic concentrations, and, specifically whether microbial oxidation to CO2 represents a significant loss process. We demonstrate that 14C labeled acetone can be used to determine microbial oxidation to 14CO2. Linear microbial rates of acetone oxidation to CO2 were observed for between 0.75-3.5 h at a seasonally eutrophic coastal station located in the western English Channel (L4). A kinetic experiment in summer at station L4 gave a Vmax of 4.1 pmol L-1 h-1, with a Km constant of 54 pM. We then used this technique to obtain microbial acetone loss rates ranging between 1.2 and 42 pmol L-1 h-1.(monthly averages) over an annual cycle at L4, with maximum rates observed during winter months. The biological turnover time of acetone (in situ concentration divided by microbial oxidation rate) in surface waters varied from ~3 days in February 2011, when in situ concentrations were 3 ± 1 nM, to >240 days in June 2011, when concentrations were more than twofold higher at 7.5 ± 0.7 nM. These relatively low marine microbial acetone oxidation rates, when normalized to in situ concentrations, suggest that marine microbes preferentially utilize other OVOCs such as methanol and acetaldehyde.

Item Type: Publication - Article
Additional Keywords: bacteria, kinetics, acetone oxidation, Western English Channel (L4), radioactive labeling, seasonality, acetone turnover
Subjects: Ecology and Environment
Marine Sciences
Divisions: Plymouth Marine Laboratory > National Capability categories > Western Channel Observatory
Depositing User: Professor Philip Nightingale
Date made live: 10 Jun 2014 16:21
Last Modified: 05 Nov 2018 16:11
URI: https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/6082

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item