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Title: Indexing Permafrost Soil Organic Matter Degradation Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Microbial degradation of soil organic matter (SOM) is a key process for terrestrial carbon cycling, although the molecular details of these transformations remain unclear. This study reports the application of ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry to profile the molecular composition of SOM and its degradation during a simulated warming experiment. A soil sample, collected near Barrow, Alaska, USA, was subjected to a 40-day incubation under anoxic conditions and analyzed before and after the incubation to determine changes of SOM composition. A CHO index based on molecular C, H, and O data was utilized to codify SOM components according to their observed degradation potentials. Compounds with a CHO index score between 1 and 0 in a water-soluble fraction (WSF) demonstrated high degradation potential, with a highest shift of CHO index occurred in the N-containing group of compounds, while similar stoichiometries in a base-soluble fraction (BSF) did not. Additionally, compared with the classical H:C vs O:C van Krevelen diagram, CHO index allowed for direct visualization of the distribution of heteroatoms such as N in the identified SOM compounds. We demonstrate that CHO index is useful not only in characterizing arctic SOM at the molecular level but also enabling quantitative description of SOM degradation,more » thereby facilitating incorporation of the high resolution MS datasets to future mechanistic models of SOM degradation and prediction of greenhouse gas emissions.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [4]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Kent State Univ. (Ohio)
  3. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  4. Tennessee State Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
OSTI Identifier:
1203369
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1212345
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830; AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
PLoS ONE
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 10; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 1932-6203
Publisher:
Public Library of Science
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 58 GEOSCIENCES; soil organic matter; Arctic soil; microbial degradation; climate change; warming; ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Citation Formats

Mann, Benjamin F., Chen, Hongmei, Herndon, Elizabeth M., Chu, Rosalie K., Tolic, Nikola, Portier, Evan F., Roy Chowdhury, Taniya, Robinson, Errol W., Callister, Stephen J., Wullschleger, Stan D., Graham, David E., Liang, Liyuan, Gu, Baohua, and Hui, Dafeng. Indexing Permafrost Soil Organic Matter Degradation Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130557.
Mann, Benjamin F., Chen, Hongmei, Herndon, Elizabeth M., Chu, Rosalie K., Tolic, Nikola, Portier, Evan F., Roy Chowdhury, Taniya, Robinson, Errol W., Callister, Stephen J., Wullschleger, Stan D., Graham, David E., Liang, Liyuan, Gu, Baohua, & Hui, Dafeng. Indexing Permafrost Soil Organic Matter Degradation Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. United States. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130557
Mann, Benjamin F., Chen, Hongmei, Herndon, Elizabeth M., Chu, Rosalie K., Tolic, Nikola, Portier, Evan F., Roy Chowdhury, Taniya, Robinson, Errol W., Callister, Stephen J., Wullschleger, Stan D., Graham, David E., Liang, Liyuan, Gu, Baohua, and Hui, Dafeng. 2015. "Indexing Permafrost Soil Organic Matter Degradation Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry". United States. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130557. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1203369.
@article{osti_1203369,
title = {Indexing Permafrost Soil Organic Matter Degradation Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry},
author = {Mann, Benjamin F. and Chen, Hongmei and Herndon, Elizabeth M. and Chu, Rosalie K. and Tolic, Nikola and Portier, Evan F. and Roy Chowdhury, Taniya and Robinson, Errol W. and Callister, Stephen J. and Wullschleger, Stan D. and Graham, David E. and Liang, Liyuan and Gu, Baohua and Hui, Dafeng},
abstractNote = {Microbial degradation of soil organic matter (SOM) is a key process for terrestrial carbon cycling, although the molecular details of these transformations remain unclear. This study reports the application of ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry to profile the molecular composition of SOM and its degradation during a simulated warming experiment. A soil sample, collected near Barrow, Alaska, USA, was subjected to a 40-day incubation under anoxic conditions and analyzed before and after the incubation to determine changes of SOM composition. A CHO index based on molecular C, H, and O data was utilized to codify SOM components according to their observed degradation potentials. Compounds with a CHO index score between 1 and 0 in a water-soluble fraction (WSF) demonstrated high degradation potential, with a highest shift of CHO index occurred in the N-containing group of compounds, while similar stoichiometries in a base-soluble fraction (BSF) did not. Additionally, compared with the classical H:C vs O:C van Krevelen diagram, CHO index allowed for direct visualization of the distribution of heteroatoms such as N in the identified SOM compounds. We demonstrate that CHO index is useful not only in characterizing arctic SOM at the molecular level but also enabling quantitative description of SOM degradation, thereby facilitating incorporation of the high resolution MS datasets to future mechanistic models of SOM degradation and prediction of greenhouse gas emissions.},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0130557},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1203369}, journal = {PLoS ONE},
issn = {1932-6203},
number = 6,
volume = 10,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jun 12 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Fri Jun 12 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}

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Works referenced in this record:

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Advanced Solvent Based Methods for Molecular Characterization of Soil Organic Matter by High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry
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Substrate and environmental controls on microbial assimilation of soil organic carbon: a framework for Earth system models
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A comparison of methods for determining proximate carbon fractions of forest litter
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Quantitative, High-Resolution Proteomics for Data-Driven Systems Biology
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Works referencing / citing this record:

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Fuel characteristics of sewage sludge using thermal treatment
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Van Krevelen diagram visualization of high resolution-mass spectrometry metabolomics data with OpenVanKrevelen
journal, March 2018


Restricted morphospace occupancy of early Cambrian reef-building archaeocyaths
journal, March 2019


Electrochemical characterization of natural organic matter by direct voltammetry in an aprotic solvent
journal, January 2019


Organic carbon stocks in the Russian Chernozem: Carbon stocks of Chernozems
journal, June 2005


Photochemical alteration of organic carbon draining permafrost soils shifts microbial metabolic pathways and stimulates respiration
journal, October 2017