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Carbon Limitation Leads to Thermodynamic Regulation of Aerobic Metabolism
- Source :
- Environmental Science & Technology Letters. 7:517-524
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- American Chemical Society (ACS), 2020.
-
Abstract
- Organic matter (OM) metabolism in freshwater ecosystems is a critical source of uncertainty in global biogeochemical cycles, yet aquatic OM cycling remains poorly understood. Here, we present the first work to explicitly test OM thermodynamics as a key regulator of aerobic respiration, challenging long-held beliefs that organic carbon and oxygen concentrations are the primary determinants of respiration rates. We pair controlled microcosm experiments with ultrahigh-resolution OM characterization to demonstrate a clear relationship between OM thermodynamic favorability and aerobic respiration under carbon limitation. We also demonstrate a shift in the regulation of aerobic respiration from OM thermodynamics to nitrogen content when carbon is in excess, highlighting a central role for OM thermodynamics in aquatic biogeochemical cycling particularly in carbon-limited ecosystems. Our work therefore illuminates a structural gap in aquatic biogeochemical models and presents a new paradigm in which OM thermodynamics and nitrogen content interactively govern aerobic respiration.
- Subjects :
- Biogeochemical cycle
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Cellular respiration
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
chemistry.chemical_element
01 natural sciences
Freshwater ecosystem
03 medical and health sciences
Respiration
Environmental Chemistry
Ecosystem
Organic matter
Waste Management and Disposal
030304 developmental biology
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Water Science and Technology
Total organic carbon
chemistry.chemical_classification
0303 health sciences
Ecology
Aquatic ecosystem
technology, industry, and agriculture
Metabolism
Pollution
chemistry
Environmental chemistry
Microcosm
Carbon
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 23288930
- Volume :
- 7
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Environmental Science & Technology Letters
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....52c6dddde0aff2c0d1e63836bb63fb60
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00258