Bacteria in the global atmosphere – Part 2: Modeling of emissions and transport between different ecosystems

Burrows, Susannah M.; Butler, Tim; Jöckel, Patrick; Tost, H.; Kerkweg, Astrid; Pöschl, Ulrich; Lawrence, M. G.

doi:10.5194/acp-9-9281-2009

Cited by 295 publications

(352 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…61 000 km 2 ) is located centrally within the Greenland Sea, and is between 1000 and 1500 km distant from Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Therefore, based upon location, the microbial community found at Signy Island is more likely to be representative of oceanic microbes due to the presence of the Antarctic circumpolar current, whereas Svalbard snow and ice communities are likely to have a larger terrestrial microbial component [49].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks

Redeker

Chong

Aguion

et al. 2017

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Concentrations of trace gases trapped in ice are considered to develop uniquely from direct snow/atmosphere interactions at the time of contact. This assumption relies upon limited or no biological, chemical or physical transformations occurring during transition from snow to firn to ice; a process that can take decades to complete. Here, we present the first evidence of environmental alteration due to in situ microbial metabolism of trace gases (methyl halides and dimethyl sulfide) in polar snow. We collected evidence for ongoing microbial metabolism from an Arctic and an Antarctic location during different years. Methyl iodide production in the snowpack decreased significantly after exposure to enhanced UV radiation. Our results also show large variations in the production and consumption of other methyl halides, including methyl bromide and methyl chloride, used in climate interpretations. These results suggest that this long-neglected microbial activity could constitute a potential source of error in climate history interpretations, by introducing a so far unappreciated source of bias in the quantification of atmospheric-derived trace gases trapped within the polar ice caps.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial metabolism directly affects trace gases in (sub) polar snowpacks

Redeker

Chong

Aguion

et al. 2017

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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“…And for good reason: according to current estimates, every square metre of the Earth's surface emits on average 50-220 bacteria s 21 (Burrows et al, 2009b). In total, Earth's atmosphere includes 7.6610 23 to 3.5610 24 particles that contain bacteria (Burrows et al, 2009a). This distribution is not completely homogeneous.…”

Section: Bridges In the Skymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Particles with a diameter of about 1 mm have the longest residence in the atmosphere and so can presumably be transported the greatest distances before falling back to earth (Burrows et al, 2009a). Strain descriptions of novel Geobacillus species rarely report spore size.…”

Section: Desert Dustmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Geobacillus paradox: why is a thermophilic bacterial genus so prevalent on a mesophilic planet?

2014

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The genus Geobacillus comprises endospore-forming obligate thermophiles. These bacteria have been isolated from cool soils and even cold ocean sediments in anomalously high numbers, given that the ambient temperatures are significantly below their minimum requirement for growth. Geobacilli are active in environments such as hot plant composts, however, and examination of their genome sequences reveals that they are endowed with a battery of sensors, transporters and enzymes dedicated to hydrolysing plant polysaccharides. Although they appear to be relatively minor members of the plant biomass-degrading microbial community, Geobacillus bacteria have achieved a significant population with a worldwide distribution, probably in large part due to adaptive features of their spores. First, their morphology and resistance properties enable them to be mobilized in the atmosphere and transported long distances. Second, their longevity, which in theory may be extreme, enables them to lie quiescent but viable for long periods of time, accumulating gradually over time to achieve surprisingly high population densities. Introduction: an environmental enigmaGeobacillus bacteria are rod-shaped, aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, endospore-forming microbes. Depending on the strain, the temperature range for growth can extend as low as 35 u C or as high as 80 u C. But for most isolates, temperatures between about 45 and 70 u C are required (Nazina et al., 2001). These characteristics make Geobacillus bacteria (geobacilli) attractive to the biotechnology industry as sources of thermostable enzymes (de Champdoré et al., 2007; Karagüler et al., 2007), as platforms for biofuel production (Cripps et al., 2009;Taylor et al., 2009) and as potential components of bioremediation strategies (Markossian et al., 2000;Obojska et al., 2002;Perfumo et al., 2007). Obligate thermophiles, however, face a significant challenge outside the lab: they must survive on a planet with an average annual land surface temperature that has only ranged between 7 and 10 uC over the past three centuries (Rohde et al., 2013). It would be logical to assume, then, that Geobacillus would only be found in substantial numbers in the warmest regions of the planet, such as equatorial deserts or naturally occurring geothermal and hydrothermal hotspots. The truth, however, is rather more complicated.As Fig. 1 illustrates, people have been able to detect Geobacillus nearly everywhere they have thought to look. (This figure is based on a survey of 146 mostly recent references describing the isolation of Geobacillus in natural or human-made environments; for full details, see Table S1, available in Microbiology Online.) One can see at a glance that these bacteria have been isolated from sources on all seven continents as well as the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. What may not be obvious from a twodimensional map is that there has been much diversity in the third dimension as well. Geobacillus has been isolated from the Bolivian Andes at an altitude of 3653 m (Ma...

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“…Aerosolized microbes may originate from agricultural fields 2 , sewage treatment centres 3 , geothermal springs 4 , any surface exposed to sufficient wind force 5 and large-scale volcanic eruptions 6 . Organisms that have been independently aerosolized or attached to dust particles can be transported thousands of kilometres, which presumably allows microbes to easily move between continents and hemispheres [7][8][9][10][11] .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%