Quantifying the inhibitory impact of soluble phenolics on anaerobic carbon mineralization in a thawing permafrost peatland

Cory, Alexandra B.; Chanton, Jeffrey P.; Spencer, Robert G. M.; Ogles, Olivia C.; Rich, Virginia I.; McCalley, Carmody K.; Wilson, Rachel M.; Riaz, ed., Muhammad

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252743

Title: Quantifying the inhibitory impact of soluble phenolics on anaerobic carbon mineralization in a thawing permafrost peatland

Journal Article · Wed Feb 02 00:00:00 EST 2022 · PLoS ONE

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252743· OSTI ID:1843508

; Chanton, Jeffrey P.; Spencer, Robert G. M.; Ogles, Olivia C.; Rich, Virginia I.; McCalley, Carmody K.; Wilson, Rachel M.; Riaz, ed., Muhammad

The mechanisms controlling the extraordinarily slow carbon (C) mineralization rates characteristic of Sphagnum -rich peatlands (“bogs”) are not fully understood, despite decades of research on this topic. Soluble phenolic compounds have been invoked as potentially significant contributors to bog peat recalcitrance due to their affinity to slow microbial metabolism and cell growth. Despite this potentially significant role, the effects of soluble phenolic compounds on bog peat C mineralization remain unclear. We analyzed this effect by manipulating the concentration of free soluble phenolics in anaerobic bog and fen peat incubations using water-soluble polyvinylpyrrolidone (“PVP”), a compound that binds with and inactivates phenolics, preventing phenolic-enzyme interactions. CO ₂ and CH ₄ production rates (end-products of anaerobic C mineralization) generally correlated positively with PVP concentration following Michaelis-Menten (M.M.) saturation functions. Using M.M. parameters, we estimated that the extent to which phenolics inhibit anaerobic CO ₂ production was significantly higher in the bog—62 ± 16%—than the fen—14 ± 4%. This difference was found to be more substantial with regards to methane production—wherein phenolic inhibition for the bog was estimated at 54 ± 19%, while the fen demonstrated no apparent inhibition. Consistent with this habitat difference, we observed significantly higher soluble phenolic content in bog vs. fen pore-water. Together, these findings suggest that soluble phenolics could contribute to bogs’ extraordinary recalcitrance and high (relative to other peatland habitats) CO ₂ :CH ₄ production ratios.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (United States); Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Contributing Organization:: IsoGenie Project Coordinators; EMERGE 2021 Field Team

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0016440; SC0010580; 2022070

OSTI ID:: 1843508

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1904483

Journal Information:: PLoS ONE, Journal Name: PLoS ONE Vol. 17 Journal Issue: 2; ISSN 1932-6203

Publisher:: Public Library of Science (PLoS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
phenols
bogs
fens
wetlands
carbon dioxide
methane
hydrolysis
linear regression analysis

Title: Quantifying the inhibitory impact of soluble phenolics on anaerobic carbon mineralization in a thawing permafrost peatland

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