Paired RNA Radiocarbon and Sequencing Analyses Indicate the Importance of Autotrophy in a Shallow Alluvial Aquifer.

ABSTRACT: Determining the carbon sources for active microbial populations in the subsurface is a challenging but highly informative component of subsurface microbial ecology. This work developed a method to provide ecological insights into groundwater microbial communities by characterizing community RNA through its radiocarbon and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) signatures. RNA was chosen as the biomolecule of interest because rRNA constitutes the majority of RNA in prokaryotes, represents recently active organisms, and yields detailed taxonomic information. The method was applied to a groundwater filter collected from a shallow alluvial aquifer in Colorado. RNA was extracted, radiometrically dated, and the 16S rRNA was analyzed by RNA-Seq. The RNA had a radiocarbon signature (Δ¹⁴C) of -193.4 ± 5.6

SUBMITTER: Mailloux BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6637170 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature