Targeted quantification of functional enzyme dynamics in environmental samples for microbially mediated biogeochemical processes: Targeted quantification of functional enzyme dynamics
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074 People's Republic of China
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354 USA
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354 USA; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055 People's Republic of China
Microbially mediated biogeochemical processes are catalyzed by enzymes that control the transformation of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements in environment. The dynamic linkage between enzymes and biogeochemical species transformation has, however, rarely been investigated because of the lack of analytical approaches to efficiently and reliably quantify enzymes and their dynamics in soils and sediments. Herein, we developed a signature peptide-based technique for sensitively quantifying dissimilatory and assimilatory enzymes using nitrate-reducing enzymes in a hyporheic zone sediment as an example. Moreover, the measured changes in enzyme concentration were found to correlate with the nitrate reduction rate in a way different from that inferred from biogeochemical models based on biomass or functional genes as surrogates for functional enzymes. This phenomenon has important implications for understanding and modeling the dynamics of microbial community functions and biogeochemical processes in environments. Our results also demonstrate the importance of enzyme quantification for the identification and interrogation of those biogeochemical processes with low metabolite concentrations as a result of faster enzyme-catalyzed consumption of metabolites than their production. The dynamic enzyme behaviors provide a basis for the development of enzyme-based models to describe the relationship between the microbial community and biogeochemical processes.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1406720
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-120732; KP1702030
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Microbiology Reports, Vol. 9, Issue 5; ISSN 1758-2229
- Publisher:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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