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Abstract
Marine chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and its related fluorescent components (FDOM), which are widely distributed but highly photobleached in the surface ocean, are critical in regulating light attenuation in the ocean. However, the origins of marine FDOM are still under investigation. Here we show that cultured picocyanobacteria, Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus, release FDOM that closely match the typical fluorescent signals found in oceanic environments. Picocyanobacterial FDOM also shows comparable apparent fluorescent quantum yields and undergoes similar photo-degradation behaviour when compared with deep-ocean FDOM, further strengthening the similarity between them. Ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveal abundant nitrogen-containing compounds in Synechococcus DOM, which may originate from degradation products of the fluorescent phycobilin pigments. Given the importance of picocyanobacteria in the global carbon cycle, our results indicate that picocyanobacteria are likely to be important sources of marine autochthonous FDOM, which may accumulate in the deep ocean.
Department
Civil Engineering
Publication Date
5-17-2017
Journal Title
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Nature
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Zhao, Z., Gonsior M., Luek, J., Timko, S., Ianiri, H., Hertkorn, N., Schmitt-Kopplin, P., Fang, X., Zeng, Q., Jiao, N., Chen, F. 2017. Picocyanobacteria and Deep-Ocean Fluorescent Dissolved Organic Matter share Similar Optical Properties. Nature Communications 8:15284, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15284.
Comments
This is an article published by Springer Nature in Nature Communications in 2017, available online: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15284