Synthesis and characterization of peptides after high-energy impact on the icy matrix: Preliminary step for further UV-induced formation

In the interstellar medium, the most probable source of organic molecules could be non-equilibrium processes driven by photons, cosmic rays, shock waves and solid bodies’ collisions. The dense cold phase of ISM host icy dust grains—important chemical catalyst during its life cycle. Such particles consist of mineral core composed by silicate or olivine admixed with metal sulfides and oxides, with the water-icy envelope containing organic molecules. Organic molecules in the ISM evolve and become later incorporated in solar system material (comets and meteorites).The formation of polypeptides from single amino acids was traced in simulation experiments representing the inner structure of icy dust grains. Experimental chamber was irradiated at subzero temperatures at the dosage of 2.54 kRad/min. Solid frozen solutions of Gly and Phe were taken as the experimental samples inserted into the metal tube kept at subzero temperatures in the presence of liquid nitrogen. Formation of di- and tri-peptides was demonstrated after applying mass-spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques.Having polypeptides within the icy matrix, dust grains with ice mantles are transported to warm, dense and active protostellar regions, where ultraviolet irradiation may become important and alter the grain composition. Furthermore UVC radiation may contribute to the formation of additional amounts of polypeptides, since short-wave photons are totally adsorbed by a thin outer layer. This presumption coincides with our previous investigations concerning UV impact on prebiotic formation of the main biological molecules. Combination of two irradiation types in different stages of interstellar flight could compensate the effects of low reagents concentration and temperature. Since the primordial Earth had no atmosphere, the natural carriers could get freely onto its surface and thus raise the concentration of organic molecules.     

黄海和东海沉积物有机质活性及营养盐再生潜力初探

2000年秋季和 2001年春季,对黄海和东海 6个站位的水柱和沉积物样品进行了营养盐、沉积有机碳、有机碳同位素和氨基酸分析.结果表明, 表层沉积物的有机碳含量和有机质活性存在较明显的季节性变化,这主要由春秋两季表层水体生物量的差异引起.在泥质堆积区 E2、 E4、 E5站,春季表层沉积物有机碳的含量与活性均较高,而同期底部沉积物向上的营养盐梯度也明显增大, 显示有机碳的含量及活性与营养盐再生有密切关系.     

南海北部海水中氨基酸的分布及其对溶解有机物降解行为的指示研究

于2015年6月对南海北部海区5个断面共26个站位海水中溶解态氨基酸（THAA）、溶解有机碳（DOC）和叶绿素a（Chl a）的浓度进行了科学调查。结果表明:夏季南海北部海水中THAA的浓度范围为0.40~1.95 μmol/L,平均值为（0.80±0.40） μmol/L,THAA的水平分布总体上体现出近岸高、远海低的特点,表明陆源输入对南海北部海域表层THAA分布有重要影响。THAA在断面上的垂直分布呈现出由近岸至远岸、由表层至底层逐渐降低的趋势。THAA浓度与两种D型氨基酸（D-谷氨酸:D-Glu和D-丙氨酸:D-Ala）含量之间存在显著负相关性,与天门冬氨酸/β-丙氨酸（Asp/β-Ala）和谷氨酸/γ-氨基丁酸（Glu/γ-Aba）比值之间存在显著正相关性,表明细菌的消耗是影响南海海水中THAA浓度的重要因素。D-Ala作为细菌肽聚糖中相对稳定的氨基酸,根据其占DOC的含量估算南海海水中的细菌源有机碳对DOC的贡献率为（29.32±14.32）%,其水平分布显示出近岸低、远岸高的特点;而其垂直分布则呈现出从表层至底层逐渐增加的趋势。THAA占DOC百分比（THAA-C%）的变化范围为1.02%~5.49%,平均值为（2.97±1.38）%。THAA-C%、活性因子和降解因子的高值均出现在珠江口外围区域。随着海水深度增加3种降解因子的数值均显著降低,这表明底层海水中有机物比表层海水中的有机物降解程度更大。     

Energy profiling of demersal fish: A case-study in wind farm artificial reefs

The construction of wind farms introduces artificial hard substrates in sandy sediments. As Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and pouting (Trisopterus luscus) tend to aggregate in order to feed around these reefs, energy profiling and trophic markers were applied to study their feeding ecology in a wind farm in the Belgian part of the North Sea. The proximate composition (carbohydrates, proteins and lipids) differed significantly between liver and muscle tissue but not between fish species or between their potential prey species. Atlantic cod showed to consume more energy than pouting. The latter had a higher overall energy reserve and can theoretically survive twice as long on the available energy than cod. In autumn, both fish species could survive longer on their energy than in spring. Polyunsaturated fatty acids were found in high concentrations in fish liver. The prey species Jassa and Pisidia were both rich in EPA while Jassa had a higher DHA content than Pisidia.Energy profiling supported the statement that wind farm artificial reefs are suitable feeding ground for both fish species. Sufficient energy levels were recorded and there is no indication of competition.     

Variation in sunscreen compounds (mycosporine‐like amino acids) for marine species along a gradient of ultraviolet radiation transmission within doubtful sound,New Zealand

We examined the response of four species of New Zealand marine algae (Ecklonia radiata, Apophlaea lyallii, Rhodymenia spp., Ulva lactuca) and a sea urchin (Evechinus chloroticus) to spatial variation in ultraviolet radiation (UV‐R) by examining the concentration of UV‐R absorbing compounds known as mycosporine‐like amino acids (MAAs). The purpose was to understand how, and the degree to which, local marine species could potentially respond to any future increases in incident UV‐R in the New Zealand marine environment. The research was undertaken in Doubtful Sound, where we observed a gradient of water column UV‐R transmission along the 40 km length of the fiord. We examined spatial differences in MAAs along the UV‐B gradient in the macrophytes and temporal changes in MAAs in sea urchin gonads. Among the algae, thallus MAA concentrations (nmol mg^–1 protein) ranged from 12.5 to 87.8 in E. radiata, from 433.1 to 1446.4 in A. lyallii, 12.7 to 103.4 in Rhodymenia spp., but were not detected in U. lactuca. For E. chloroticus, gonadal MAA concentrations ranged from 83.9 to 224.3 nmol mg^–1 protein spatially, and over the year from 1.85 to 14.12 nmol mg^–1 dry weight (DW) depending on site and gametogenic cycle. Laboratory manipulations indicated that concentrations of MAAs in E. chloroticus gonads and eggs are influenced by diet. MAA concentration could be correlated with UV‐B intensities in two of the algal species. E. chloroticus MAA concentrations could also be correlated with UV‐B transmission, which we concluded was a reflection of the greater ingestion and accumulation of MAA‐rich macrophytes at those sites where higher ambient UV‐R induced greater MAA concentrations to occur in the algae. Given this, we suggest that one response of marine species to increases in UV‐B would be an increase in the synthesis and/or accumulation of MAAs for photoautotrophs and a dietary accumulation of those MAAs in E. chloroticus, an important herbivore in this system.     

Biogeochemistry of iron oxidation in a circumneutral freshwater habitat

Iron(II) oxidation in natural waters at circumneutral pH, often regarded as an abiotic process, is frequently biologically mediated at iron-rich redox gradients. West Berry Creek, a small circumneutral tributary that flows through a mixed coniferous forest in Big Basin State Park, California, contains localized iron (hydr)oxide precipitates at points along its course where anoxic groundwater meets oxygenated creek water. These mixing zones establish redox gradients that may be exploited by microbes forming microbial mats that are intimately associated with iron (hydr)oxide precipitates. Water sampling revealed strong correlations between the concentrations of aqueous inorganic species, suggesting a rock-weathering source for most of these solutes. Liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry techniques detected significant concentrations of organic exudates, including low molecular mass organic acids and siderophores, indicating that active biogeochemical cycling of iron is occurring in the creek. X-ray diffraction and elemental analysis showed the precipitates to be amorphous, or possibly poorly crystalline, iron-rich minerals. Clone libraries developed from 16S rDNA sequences extracted from microbial mat communities associated with the precipitates revealed the presence of microorganisms related to the neutrophilic iron oxidizing bacteria Gallionella and Sideroxydans. Sequences from these libraries also indicated the presence of significant populations of organisms related to bacteria in the genera Aquaspirillum, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, and Nitrospira. These geosymbiotic systems appear to be significant not only for the biogeochemical cycling of iron in the creek, but also for the cycling of organic species, inorganic nutrients, and trace metals.     

Fatty acids in recent sediments in the St. Lawrence estuary

Surface sediments along the Rimouski section in the St. Lawrence estuary were sampled at the surface and at 10 cm depth. Fatty acids were extracted and analysed. Saturated and unsaturated fatty acid contents at the two depths vary with the nature of the sediments. The clay sediments rich in organic matter contain more fatty acids than the corresponding sand or gravel. Unsaturated fatty acids were more abundant in the surface sediments. Some iso- and anteiso-odd carbon fatty acids were detected in the sediments; these acids could indicate a microbial activity. Correlation is made with the fatty acid contents of the water column together with the surface microlayer of the estuarine water.     

Seasonal variations in the production and consumption of amino acids by coastal microplankton

A seasonal study on coastal microplankton was conducted in surface waters near Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Phytoplankton biomass, particulate production and extracellular organic release were examined in conjunction with microheterotrophic biomass and the uptake and respiration of amino acids. In situ dissolved free amino acid (DFAA) concentrations were also determined. Several phytoplankton blooms occurred throughout the year, in mid-summer, late autumn and in mid-winter. Heterotrophic activity and biomass paralleled phytoplankton extracellular release more closely than either phytoplankton particulate production or biomass. DFAA concentrations were not wholly dependent on extracellular release. Heterotrophic uptake did not appear to be dependent on DFAA concentrations but rather on rates of production of DOC by phytoplankton.     

Lipid geochemistry in a sediment core from Ruoergai Marsh deposit (Eastern Qinghai-Tibet plateau, China)

Peats in a sediment core from Ruoergai bog, which has a cold and moist plateau climate with major source input from herbaceous plants, have been studied by GC–MS in order to understand the composition and diagenetic processes of lipids in this depositional environment. Long chain components (C₂₁–C₃₅) predominate in the n-alkanes, n-alk-1-enes, n-fatty acids, n-alkan-2-ones and n-alkanols with a maximum of C₃₁, C_27, C₂₂ or C_24, C₂₃ or C₂₅ and C₂₂, respectively. A herbaceous origin for these long chain compounds is suggested, and this is supported by their stable carbon isotopic compositions. Diterpenoid hydrocarbons with abietane, pimarane and kaurane skeletons, some of which have not been reported often in modern sediments, are prominent and are derived from higher plants. Several triterpenoid ketones and alcohols with oleanane or lupane skeletons, and a series of des-A-triterpenoid hydrocarbons which have not been reported often in modern sediments are also present, and are assigned to a higher plant source. Hopanoids, including their alkanes, alkenes, ketones, alcohols and esters, are abundant and of bacterial origin. Steroid ketones and alkanols are dominated by C₂₉ homologues. C₂₈ and C₂₉ steroids are derived mainly from higher plants, whereas the C₂₇ component is assigned to a microbial source. The presence of short-chain n-alkanes with no odd-even carbon predominance, bacterially derived fatty acids (C₁₄, C₁₅, iso- and unsaturated acids), n-alkan-2-ones, des-A-triterpenoid hydrocarbons, hopanoids and some steroid ketones indicate that intense microbial reworking of the organic matter has taken place in this depositional environment. The chemical and biochemical conversions of some cyclic alkenes to alkanes, such as tricyclic diterpenoids, tetracyclic terpenoids and steroid ketones, are also evident with depth. The dominance of C₂₀ components in the diterpenoid hydrocarbons may reflect an oxidizing or reducing depositional condition.     

有机酸与矿物间界面作用研究评述

介绍了近年来有机酸与矿物之间相互作用的研究进展，重点探讨有机还可能与矿物间相互作用的环境意义、作用模式以及低分子量有机酸和高分子量腐殖酸在与矿物作用时各自的特点和彼此间的差异。有机酸-矿物界面作用控制着金属、有机污染物的迁移、转化与归宿以及生物可给性。有机酸-矿物界面作用存在多种模式，主要受有机酸和矿物的活性基团类型、含量分布以及有机酸分子量大小和疏水性等因素的影响。