Uncovering the Ediacaran phosphorus cycle

Dodd, Matthew S.; Shi, Wei; Li, Chao; Zhang, Zihu; Jin, Chengsheng; Gu, Hongyan; Loyd, S. J.; Wallace, Malcolm W.; Hood, Ashleigh v.S.; Lamothe, Kelsey G.; Mills, Benjamin J. W.; Poulton, Simon W.; Lyons, Timothy W.

doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06077-6

Cited by 39 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The late Neoproterozoic is thought to have had a stratified ocean characterized by frequent fluctuations in the redox interface between oxygenated surface waters and anoxic deep waters along the continental margin (Dodd et al., 2023; Sahoo et al., 2016; Shields et al., 2019). The intermittent oxidation of the deep Ediacaran ocean was a response to the Neoproterozoic oxidation event (NOE; 0.8−0.5 Ga; Sahoo et al., 2012; Lyons et al., 2014; Alcott et al., 2019) and a prelude to the explosion of life in the Cambrian (Sperling et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Negative Carbon Isotope Interval Caused by Manganese Redox Cycling After the Shuram Excursion

Zhang,

Cao,

et al. 2024

JGR Solid Earth

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Several negative C isotope excursions (CIEs) occurred at the end of the Neoproterozoic era which have been generally attributed to the oxidation of organic carbon using sulfate as the terminal electron acceptor and the subsequent release of 13C‐depleted dissolved inorganic C (DIC). Based on new analyses from the Doushantuo Formation in South China, we observe a negative C isotope excursion right after the well‐known Shuram excursion. This excursion is equivalent to the ∼550 Ma negative CIE which is globally expressed within several continental margins. However, the origins of this CIE in the termination of Ediacaran remain unresolved. Here, we hypothesize that this post‐Shuram negative CIE was caused by a localized manganese cycling that began with the oxidation of hydrothermal Mn(II) in a water column to insoluble Mn(IV)‐oxide, followed by accumulation of Mn(IV)‐oxide to the seafloor and its subsequent dissolution via Mn(IV) reduction leading to the release of dissolved Mn(II) and 13C‐depleted DIC into ambient seawaters. This ultimately led to the precipitation of particulate Mn(II)‐carbonate characterized by low δ13Ccarb values ranging from −11.1‰ to −2.8‰. The presence of microbial fabrics in association with the Mn(II)‐carbonate further suggests that Mn(II)‐carbonate precipitation took place at the seafloor in shallow sun‐lit waters rather than in the deeper sediment pile, which archived ambient seawater C isotopic signal. Although most Ediacaran negative CIEs were generally attributed to sulfate reduction, our findings suggest that at a local level, Mn cycling can also lead to negative CIE in the Neoproterozoic, and potentially at other times in Earth's history.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Negative Carbon Isotope Interval Caused by Manganese Redox Cycling After the Shuram Excursion

Zhang,

Cao,

et al. 2024

JGR Solid Earth

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“…Importantly, we find that the losses and gains of corA were followed by metabolic acclimation and diversification mediated by lateral gene transfer of substrate-specific genes. Molecular dating and geological inference suggest brackish Poseidoniaceae in the Ediacaran-Cambrian possibly flourished due to the rise of algal productivity in coastal and even brackish waters because of enhanced phosphorus supply in response to land weathering ( 62 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene inversion led to the emergence of brackish archaeal heterotrophs in the aftermath of the Cryogenian Snowball Earth

Fan,

Xu,

Chen

et al. 2024

PNAS Nexus

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Land-ocean interactions greatly impact the evolution of coastal life on Earth. However, the ancient geological forces and genetic mechanisms that shaped evolutionary adaptations and allowed microorganisms to inhabit coastal brackish waters remain largely unexplored. Here, we infer the evolutionary trajectory of the ubiquitous heterotrophic archaea Poseidoniales (Marine Group II archaea) presently occurring across global aquatic habitats. Our results show that their brackish subgroups had a single origination, dated to over 600 million years ago, through the inversion of the magnesium transport gene corA that conferred osmotic-stress tolerance. The subsequent loss and gain of corA were followed by genome-wide adjustment, characterized by a general two-step mode of selection in microbial speciation. The coastal family of Poseidoniales showed a rapid increase in the evolutionary rate during and in the aftermath of the Cryogenian Snowball Earth (∼700 million years ago), possibly in response to the enhanced phosphorus supply and the rise of algae. Our study highlights the close interplay between genetic changes and ecosystem evolution that boosted microbial diversification in the Neoproterozoic continental margins where the Cambrian explosion of animals soon followed.

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“…Increased oxygenation would facilitate the shift of mid‐depth water chemistry from ferruginous to euxinic conditions due to enhanced terrestrial sulfate input to the ocean (e.g., Poulton et al., 2004). This transition could enhance marine P recycling because of the organic decomposition facilitated by bacterial sulfate reduction (Dodd et al., 2023; Poulton et al., 2004), leading to a positive feedback between oxygenation and P availability, ultimately resulting in a continuous increase in oxygen levels (e.g., Alcott et al., 2022; but see Van Cappellen & Ingall, 1996 for a different view). However, the mid‐Proterozoic oxygenation events identified to date are likely transient (e.g., Shang et al., 2019; B. L. Wei et al., 2021; W. Wei et al., 2021; Xie et al., 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine Aluminum Phosphate–Sulfate Authigenesis as a Phosphorus Sink During Mid‐Proterozoic Oxygenation

Xie,

Lechte,

Shi

et al. 2024

Geophysical Research Letters

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Enhanced continental phosphorus input into the ocean has been suggested as a potential trigger for the transient oxygenation events during the mid‐Proterozoic; however, the response of phosphorus cycling to these marine oxygenations remains unclear. Here, we report the changes in phosphorus cycling associated with a ∼1.7 Ga transient oxygenation. Abundant authigenic aluminum phosphate–sulfate mineral svanbergite (SrAl3(PO4) (SO4) (OH)6; 8.02 ± 4.92 wt%) is identified within the ∼1.7 Ga Yunmengshan ironstones from the Xiong'er Basin, North China and other contemporaneous basins. This observation provides new evidence to support the suggestion that early diagenetic aluminum phosphate‐sulfate minerals could have represented a critical sink of marine phosphorus during the Proterozoic. We suggest that atmospheric oxygenation and concomitant changes in porewater redox chemistry may have enhanced the formation of early diagenetic phosphates, leading to a negative feedback on the oceanic phosphorus reservoir and atmospheric oxygen levels.

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Uncovering the Ediacaran phosphorus cycle

Cited by 39 publications

References 56 publications

A New Negative Carbon Isotope Interval Caused by Manganese Redox Cycling After the Shuram Excursion

A New Negative Carbon Isotope Interval Caused by Manganese Redox Cycling After the Shuram Excursion

Gene inversion led to the emergence of brackish archaeal heterotrophs in the aftermath of the Cryogenian Snowball Earth

Marine Aluminum Phosphate–Sulfate Authigenesis as a Phosphorus Sink During Mid‐Proterozoic Oxygenation

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