Spatially resolved genomic, stable isotopic, and lipid analyses of a modern freshwater microbialite from Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico.

ABSTRACT: Microbialites are biologically mediated carbonate deposits found in diverse environments worldwide. To explore the organisms and processes involved in microbialite formation, this study integrated genomic, lipid, and both organic and inorganic stable isotopic analyses to examine five discrete depth horizons spanning the surface 25 mm of a modern freshwater microbialite from Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico. Distinct bacterial communities and geochemical signatures were observed in each microbialite layer. Photoautotrophic organisms accounted for approximately 65% of the sequences in the surface community and produced biomass with distinctive lipid biomarker and isotopic (δ(13)C) signatures. This photoautotrophic biomass was efficiently degraded in the deeper layers by heterotrophic organisms, prima

SUBMITTER: Nitti A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3426887 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature