Carotenoids are the likely precursor of a significant fraction of marine dissolved organic matter.

ABSTRACT: The ocean's biota sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) in part by producing dissolved organic matter (DOM) that persists in the ocean for millennia. This long-term accumulation of carbon may be facilitated by abiotic and biotic production of chemical structures that resist degradation, consequently contributing disproportionately to refractory DOM. Compounds that are selectively preserved in seawater were identified in solid-phase extracted DOM (PPL-DOM) using comprehensive gas chromatography (GC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS). These molecules contained cyclic head groups that were linked to isoprenoid tails, and their overall structures closely resembled carotenoid degradation products (CDP). The origin of these compounds in PPL-DOM was further confirmed with an in vi

SUBMITTER: Arakawa N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5617377 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature