Degraded and extended hopane derivatives (C27 to C35) as ubiquitous geochemical markers

Decomposition of aquatic biota and sediment formation: lipid components of two blue‐green algal species and of detritus resulting from microbial attack

“…This evidence, implying slower release of phytol from chlorophyll during anaerobic diagenesis, together with the report that 'abiological' conversion of phytol into isoprenoid acids requires oxygen, may explain the absence of these acids in the detritus. The triterpanoid acids related to hopane, which occur in contemporary lacustrine sediments and are thought to be indicators of microbial processes during sedimentation (Van Dorsselaer et al, 1974), could not be detected in any sample of detritus.…”

Reactivity of organic matter in aquifer sediments: geological and geochemical controls 1 1Associate editor: P. A. Maurice

“…This is indicated by the presence of C 27 -C 33 -hopanoids (Fig. 6), which are derived from C 35 -bacterial hopanoids and related bacterial lipids (Dorsselaer et al, 1974;Kannenberg and Poralla, 1999;Otto and Simoneit, 2001;Rullkötter, 1983), as well as by small amounts of iso-and anteiso-C 15 and C 17 fatty acids in the Oosterhout samples (Leo and Parker, 1966;Schmitter et al, 1978). Although living biomass is undoubtedly present, hopanoids with functional groups attached to their hopanoid skeleton were not observed.…”

Preliminary Lipid Analysis of Core Sections 18, 24, and 30 from Hole 402A

“…The triterpenoids of the hopane family found in sediments are thought to arise from tetra-and pentahydroxy bacteriohopanes (e.g., XV) (e.g., Van Dorsselaer et al, 1974), which have been shown to be major constituents of bacteria and blue-green algae (e.g., Rohmer and Ourisson, 1976); in the marine situation, where blue-green algae are not dominant in the phytoplankton, the likely source of hopane triterpenoids is bacteria. This is borne out by the low concentrations of visibly distinguishable algal debris in samples from Hole 402A (Doran et al, this volume).…”