{"id":100299,"date":"2021-11-12T07:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T06:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=100299"},"modified":"2021-11-07T15:03:47","modified_gmt":"2021-11-07T14:03:47","slug":"microorganisms-produce-elemental-carbon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/microorganisms-produce-elemental-carbon\/","title":{"rendered":"Mi\u00adcroor\u00adgan\u00adisms pro\u00adduce ele\u00admental car\u00adbon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Carbon occurs on the Earth in a variety of structures and forms. Elemental Carbon is usually formed under conditions of high pressure and temperature. Researchers have now, for the first time, identified microorganisms that produce elemental carbon. The team, which includes Dr. Gunter Wegener of MARUM \u2013 Center for Marine Environmental Sciences of the University of Bremen and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, has now published its results in the Journal Science Advances<\/em>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sampling
Sampling from the hot sed\u00adi\u00adments of the hy\u00addro\u00adthermal seep at the Guay\u00admas Basin off the coast of Mex\u00adico. The meth\u00adane-ox\u00adid\u00adiz\u00ading con\u00adsor\u00adtia live un\u00adder\u00adneath the whit\u00adish-yel\u00adlow and or\u00adange-colored bac\u00adterial mats [An\u00addreas Teske, Univ. of North Car\u00ado\u00adlina (USA)]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Life on the Earth is based on car\u00adbon. Through the course of evol\u00adu\u00adtion, liv\u00ading or\u00adgan\u00adisms have learned to form and pro\u00adcess large num\u00adbers of dif\u00adfer\u00adent car\u00adbon com\u00adpounds. Car\u00adbon is the corner\u00adstone of most bio\u00adlo\u00adgic\u00adally pro\u00adduced or\u00adganic com\u00adpounds such as pro\u00adteins, car\u00adbo\u00adhydrates, fats and DNA. All of these com\u00adpounds con\u00adtain, in ad\u00addi\u00adtion to car\u00adbon, many other ele\u00adments, in\u00adclud\u00ading hy\u00addro\u00adgen, ni\u00adtro\u00adgen and oxy\u00adgen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The scientists cultivated the microbial consortia in the laboratory. The black masses, for the most part, are amorphous carbon [MARUM \u2013 Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; G. Wegener]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ele\u00admental car\u00adbon is formed from or\u00adganic car\u00adbon com\u00adpounds in the Earth without bio\u00adlo\u00adgical in\u00adflu\u00adence when high tem\u00adper\u00adat\u00adure and pres\u00adsure con\u00addi\u00adtions ex\u00adpel all of the other ele\u00adments such as hy\u00addro\u00adgen and ni\u00adtro\u00adgen. For ex\u00adample, wood deep un\u00adder\u00adground first be\u00adcomes coal un\u00adder high tem\u00adper\u00adat\u00adures, then with in\u00adcreas\u00ading pres\u00adsure and tem\u00adper\u00adat\u00adure, forms with very high car\u00adbon con\u00adtent like an\u00adthra\u00adcite and graph\u00adite are formed. These are crys\u00adtal\u00adline forms of car\u00adbon. When wood, gas or oil is burned, soot is formed that con\u00adsists mostly of an amorph\u00adous form of car\u00adbon. It was pre\u00advi\u00adously not known that liv\u00ading or\u00adgan\u00adisms them\u00adselves can also pro\u00adduce ele\u00admental car\u00adbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more than 15 years, the Bre\u00admen sci\u00adent\u00adist Dr. Gunter We\u00adgener has been cul\u00adtiv\u00adat\u00ading mi\u00adcroor\u00adgan\u00adisms that con\u00adsume meth\u00adane without oxy\u00adgen to pro\u00adduce the en\u00adergy they need. These are ar\u00adchaea that live in sym\u00adbi\u00adosis with bac\u00adterial part\u00adners. Not much en\u00adergy can be ob\u00adtained from this pro\u00adcess for either part\u00adner, so the con\u00adsor\u00adtia grow with doub\u00adling times of sev\u00aderal months, which is a very long time for mi\u00adcroor\u00adgan\u00adisms. The re\u00adsearch\u00aders no\u00adticed some time ago that the mi\u00adcro\u00adbial con\u00adsor\u00adtia were un\u00adusu\u00adally dark, al\u00admost black. At an early stage, a por\u00adtion of this black mass had already been de\u00adscribed as metal sulf\u00adides. These are formed from iron that is ad\u00added to the cul\u00adture me\u00addium and the sulf\u00adide pro\u00adduced by the part\u00adner bac\u00adteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u00adgen\u00ader\u2019s col\u00adleagues, Dr. Kylie Al\u00adlen and Prof. Robert White from Vir\u00adginia Tech (USA), are al\u00adways search\u00ading for new bio\u00admolecules and their func\u00adtions. As a part of their ef\u00adforts, they ex\u00adtrac\u00adted meth\u00adane-ox\u00adid\u00adiz\u00ading cul\u00adtures from the spe\u00adci\u00admens in Gunter We\u00adgen\u00ader\u2019s labor\u00adat\u00adory us\u00ading or\u00adganic solvents. A residue of black ma\u00adter\u00adial was left be\u00adhind that could not be dis\u00adsolved by strong acids or bases. \u201cAt first we had no idea what this black mass could be,\u201d ex\u00adplains Robert White. \u201cThen we used other meth\u00adods to ana\u00adlyze the ma\u00adter\u00adial as a solid phase and found that it was al\u00admost pure car\u00adbon. This ex\u00adis\u00adted in a highly dis\u00adordered form known as amorph\u00adous car\u00adbon.\u201d Where did this ele\u00admental car\u00adbon come from? The team ruled out the pos\u00adsib\u00adil\u00adity of a pure chem\u00adical ori\u00adgin. They then fed the cul\u00adture with iso\u00adtop\u00adic\u00adally labeled car\u00adbon, which can be tracked in the break\u00addown pro\u00adcess, and ana\u00adlyzed the car\u00adbon formed. \u201cWe were thus able to prove that the meth\u00adane-ox\u00adid\u00adiz\u00ading ar\u00adchaea were in\u00addeed re\u00adspons\u00adible for the form\u00ada\u00adtion of ele\u00admental car\u00adbon,\u201d says Gunter We\u00adgener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The consortia under the microscope [Gunter Wegener\/Benedikt Geier, MPI Bremen]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Next, the re\u00adsearch\u00aders in\u00advest\u00adig\u00adated the meth\u00adane-form\u00ading, or meth\u00adano\u00adgenic ar\u00adchaea, which are closely re\u00adlated to the meth\u00adane ox\u00adid\u00adizers. \u201cAl\u00adthough not to the same de\u00adgree, many of these groups also pro\u00adduced ele\u00admental car\u00adbon,\u201d says Robert White.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study, however, is now gen\u00ader\u00adat\u00ading more ques\u00adtions than an\u00adswers. For ex\u00adample, how is this car\u00adbon formed? The form\u00ada\u00adtion of ele\u00admental car\u00adbon nor\u00admally re\u00adquires high pres\u00adsures and tem\u00adper\u00adat\u00adures. Both were ab\u00adsent in the cul\u00adtures. \u201cThis kind of form\u00ada\u00adtion of ele\u00admental car\u00adbon by or\u00adgan\u00adisms is com\u00adpletely new to sci\u00adence. There must be re\u00adac\u00adtions go\u00ading on in ar\u00adchaea that were pre\u00advi\u00adously com\u00adpletely un\u00adknown,\u201d ex\u00adplains Kylie Al\u00adlen, the prin\u00adcipal au\u00adthor of the study. \u201cWe still do not know at all what bio\u00adchem\u00adical re\u00adac\u00adtions and en\u00adzymes are at work here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ques\u00adtion of \u2018why\u2019 has also not yet been ex\u00adplained. \u201cEle\u00admental car\u00adbon is a good elec\u00adtrical con\u00adductor. Car\u00adbon may be the key to the sym\u00adbi\u00adosis between the ar\u00adchaea and their part\u00adners,” spec\u00adu\u00adlates Gunter We\u00adgener. Elec\u00adtrical charges could be trans\u00adpor\u00adted op\u00adtim\u00adally via car\u00adbon-based com\u00adpounds. It is also com\u00adpletely un\u00adknown how much ele\u00admental car\u00adbon is formed by mi\u00adcroor\u00adgan\u00adisms in nature. \u201cBe\u00adcause the car\u00adbon is de\u00adpos\u00adited in sed\u00adi\u00adments and re\u00admains there over very long time frames, our res\u00adults could also im\u00adply a here\u00adto\u00adfore un\u00adknown nat\u00adural car\u00adbon sink.\u201d The team will now be\u00adgin to tackle the un\u00adanswered ques\u00adtions, in part within the frame\u00adwork of the Cluster of Ex\u00adcel\u00adlence “The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Un\u00adcharted In\u00adter\u00adface”, which is housed at MARUM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original publication<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kylie D. Al\u00adlen, Gunter We\u00adgener, D. Mat\u00adthew Sub\u00adlett Jr, Robert J. Bod\u00adnar, Xu Feng, Jenny Wendt, Robert H. White: Bio\u00adgenic form\u00ada\u00adtion of amorph\u00adous car\u00adbon by an\u00adaer\u00adobic meth\u00adan\u00ado\u00adtrophs and se\u00adlect meth\u00adano\u00adgens. Sci\u00adence Ad\u00advances 2021. DOI: 10.1126\/sciadv.abg9739.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About MARUM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MARUM pro\u00adduces fun\u00adda\u00admental sci\u00adentific know\u00adledge about the role of the ocean and the sea\u00adfloor in the total Earth sys\u00adtem. The dy\u00adnam\u00adics of the oceans and the seabed sig\u00adni\u00adfic\u00adantly im\u00adpact the en\u00adtire Earth sys\u00adtem through the in\u00adter\u00adac\u00adtion of geo\u00adlo\u00adgical, phys\u00adical, bio\u00adlo\u00adgical and chem\u00adical pro\u00adcesses. These in\u00adflu\u00adence both the cli\u00admate and the global car\u00adbon cycle, res\u00adult\u00ading in the cre\u00adation of unique bio\u00adlo\u00adgical sys\u00adtems. MARUM is com\u00admit\u00adted to fun\u00adda\u00admental and un\u00adbiased re\u00adsearch in the in\u00adterests of so\u00adci\u00adety, the mar\u00adine en\u00advir\u00adon\u00adment, and in ac\u00adcord\u00adance with the sus\u00adtain\u00adab\u00adil\u00adity goals of the United Na\u00adtions. It pub\u00adlishes its qual\u00adity-as\u00adsured sci\u00adentific data to make it pub\u00adlicly avail\u00adable. MARUM in\u00adforms the pub\u00adlic about new dis\u00adcov\u00ader\u00adies in the mar\u00adine en\u00advir\u00adon\u00adment and provides prac\u00adtical know\u00adledge through its dia\u00adlogue with so\u00adci\u00adety. MARUM co\u00adoper\u00ada\u00adtion with com\u00adpan\u00adies and in\u00addus\u00adtrial part\u00adners is car\u00adried out in ac\u00adcord\u00adance with its goal of pro\u00adtect\u00ading the mar\u00adine en\u00advir\u00adon\u00adment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carbon occurs on the Earth in a variety of structures and forms. Elemental Carbon is usually formed under conditions of high pressure and temperature. Researchers have now, for the first time, identified microorganisms that produce elemental carbon. The team, which includes Dr. Gunter Wegener of MARUM \u2013 Center for Marine Environmental Sciences of the University […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Re\u00adsearch\u00aders identify a new kind of pure car\u00adbon pro\u00adduc\u00adtion by mi\u00adcroor\u00adgan\u00adisms","footnotes":""},"categories":[5571],"tags":[12922,11615],"supplier":[19322,19321,19320],"class_list":["post-100299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-co2-based","tag-carbon","tag-microorganisms","supplier-marum-center-for-marine-environmental-sciences-of-the-university-of-bremen","supplier-max-planck-institute-for-marine-microbiology","supplier-science-advances-journal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100299\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100299"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=100299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}