Structural Characterization of Natural Nickel and Copper Binding Ligands Along the US GEOTRACES Eastern Pacific Zonal Transect
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 30 November 2016 doi: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00243 Structural Characterization of Natural Nickel and Copper Binding Ligands along the US GEOTRACES Eastern Pacific Zonal Transect Rene M. Boiteau 1, 2, Claire P. Till 3, 4, Angel Ruacho 5, Randelle M. Bundy 1, Nicholas J. Hawco 1, 2, Amy M. McKenna 6, Katherine A. Barbeau 5, Kenneth W. Bruland 3, Mak A. Saito 1 and Daniel J. Repeta 1* 1 Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA, 2 Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA, 3 Ocean Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA, 4 Chemistry Department, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, USA, 5 Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA, 6 National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA Organic ligands form strong complexes with many trace elements in seawater. Various metals can compete for the same ligand chelation sites, and the final speciation of bound metals is determined by relative binding affinities, concentrations of binding sites, uncomplexed metal concentrations, and association/dissociation kinetics. Different Edited by: Christel Hassler, ligands have a wide range of metal affinities and specificities. However, the chemical University of Geneva, Switzerland composition of these ligands in the marine environment remains poorly constrained, Reviewed by: which has hindered progress in modeling marine metal speciation. In this study, we Peter Croot, detected and characterized natural ligands that bind copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland in the eastern South Pacific Ocean with liquid chromatography tandem inductively Hannelore Waska, coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICPMS), and high-resolution electrospray University of Oldenburg, Germany ionization mass spectrometry (ESIMS). Dissolved Cu, Ni, and ligand concentrations were *Correspondence: Daniel J. Repeta highest near the coast. Chromatographically unresolved polar compounds dominated [email protected] ligands isolated near the coast by solid phase extraction. Offshore, metal and ligand concentrations decreased, but several new ligands appeared. One major ligand was Specialty section: 2+ 2+ This article was submitted to detected that bound both Cu and Ni . Based on accurate mass and fragmentation + Marine Biogeochemistry, measurements, this compound has a molecular formula of [C20H21N4O8S2+M] (M = a section of the journal metal isotope) and contains several azole-like metal binding groups. Additional lipophilic Frontiers in Marine Science Ni complexes were also present only in oligotrophic waters, with masses of 649, Received: 01 August 2016 58 Accepted: 08 November 2016 698, and 712 m/z (corresponding to the Ni metal complex). Molecular formulae + + Published: 30 November 2016 of [C32H54N3O6S2Ni] and [C33H56N3O6S2Ni] were determined for two of these Citation: compounds. Addition of Cu and Ni to the samples also revealed the presence of Boiteau RM, Till CP, Ruacho A, additional compounds that can bind both Ni and Cu. Although these specific compounds Bundy RM, Hawco NJ, McKenna AM, Barbeau KA, Bruland KW, Saito MA represent a small fraction of the total dissolved Cu and Ni pool, they highlight the and Repeta DJ (2016) Structural compositional diversity and spatial heterogeneity of marine Ni and Cu ligands, as well Characterization of Natural Nickel and Copper Binding Ligands along the US as variability in the extent to which different metals in the same environment compete for GEOTRACES Eastern Pacific Zonal ligand binding. Transect. Front. Mar. Sci. 3:243. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00243 Keywords: copper, nickel, marine ligands, metal competition, GEOTRACES, Eastern Pacific Frontiers in Marine Science | www.frontiersin.org 1 November 2016 | Volume 3 | Article 243 Boiteau et al. Structure of Marine Metal Ligands INTRODUCTION rates at which the ligands are produced and degraded in the environment. Strong organic ligands affect the solubility and reactivity of Cu Ligands also affect metal redox chemistry. The +II oxidation and Ni in marine environments and impact the bioavailability of state of inorganic Cu and Ni are thermodynamically favored these essential micronutrient metals (Vraspir and Butler, 2009). in oxic seawater (Turner et al., 1981). However, Cu can Studies of Cu speciation using electrochemical methods show be reduced to the +I oxidation state by biological and that more than 99% of dissolved Cu is complexed by strong photochemical processes (Moffett and Zika, 1983; Wuttig et al., organic ligands in the surface ocean (Coale and Bruland, 1988, 2013). Organic ligands possessing hard base electron donors such 1990; Moffett et al., 1990; Donat and van den Berg, 1992; Campos as nitrogen and oxygen can stabilize the +II oxidation state, and van den Berg, 1994; Moffett, 1995; Buck and Bruland, 2005; while ligands with sulfur binding groups such as phytochelatin Jacquot et al., 2013; Thompson et al., 2014; Jacquot and Moffett, or methanobactin can stabilize the +I state, and can even 2015). In comparison, a smaller fraction (30–50%) of dissolved catalyze Cu2+ reduction (Michael et al., 1993; Walsh and Ahner, Ni is complexed by strong organic ligands (van den Berg and 2013). Nimmo, 1987; Nimmo and van Den Berg, 1989; Zhang et al., Structural characterization of organic ligands in seawater has 1990; Donat et al., 1994; Achterberg and Van Den Berg, 1997; remained challenging. Ligands occur at very low concentrations Saito and Moffett, 2004; Saito et al., 2005). Although these within a highly complex mixture of organic matter. Since electrochemical studies do not provide direct information on the high salinity matrices are unsuitable for most mass spectral chemical composition of ligands, they do suggest that structurally techniques, solid phase extraction is typically used to remove diverse ligands with distinct sources and binding strengths are salts and concentrate ligands. Solid phase extraction resins present throughout the ocean (e.g., Buck and Bruland, 2005; are available with a range of surface chemistries that can Bundy et al., 2013). be selected to retain different fractions of the organic ligand Marine organisms are capable of producing a wide variety pool (Waska et al., 2015). Liquid chromatography coupled to of Cu and Ni chelators that could potentially contribute to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICPMS) the natural ligand pool. Some Ni and Cu chelators such as provides a means to detect and quantify metal ligand complexes glutathione, phytochelatins, and metallothioneins are produced directly, and to investigate compositional changes between to chelate metals as a detoxification mechanism (Ahner et al., samples (Mounicou et al., 2009; Boiteau et al., 2013). However, 1994, 1997, 2002; Dupont et al., 2004; Freeman et al., 2004; LC-ICPMS does not provide information on the chemical Wei and Ahner, 2005; Devez et al., 2009). Other chelators identity of ligands. Chromatographic separation combined with such as methanobactins and staphylopines are produced to electrospray ionization mass spectral characterization (ESIMS) facilitate Cu or Ni acquisition (Kim et al., 2004; El Ghazouani provides molecular weights for metal-containing compounds et al., 2012; Ghssein et al., 2016). Ni is a constituent of based on peak coherence between chromatographic features that some metabolite cofactors such as the tetrapyrrole F430, the match the isotopic fine structure of metals such as Fe, Cu and prosthetic group of the enzyme involved in the final step of Ni (Mounicou et al., 2009; Baars et al., 2014, 2015; Boiteau and methanogenesis (Allen et al., 2014), while other pyrrole and Repeta, 2015). Finally, high mass accuracy Fourier transform ion azole-based modified peptides are known to have a strong cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICRMS) can achieve affinity for Ni and Cu, although their physiological roles are resolving power and mass accuracy sufficient to assign elemental unknown (Michael et al., 1993; Bertram and Pattenden, 2007; formulas to metal containing compounds (McKenna et al., 2014; Comba et al., 2014). Although not directly produced by microbes, Waska et al., 2015). marine humic compounds, structurally heterogeneous refractory In this study, we combined these techniques to provide robust degradation products of organic matter decay, may also complex molecular formula assignments to several of the major nickel Cu and Ni (Baker and Khalili, 2003; Yang and Van den Berg, and copper binding compounds in the Eastern Pacific. This 2009; Whitby and Van den Berg, 2014; Abualhaija et al., region exhibits strong surface gradients in metal concentrations 2015). and biological activity. The surface waters in the eastern The chemical composition of Cu and Ni ligands determines upwelling region off Ecuador and Peru are some of the most their metal binding stability constants and turnover rates. productive in the world, fueled by the supply of nutrients In general, there is competition between the two metals for and metals from deep waters (Pennington et al., 2006). In + ligand binding sites, with Cu2 usually forming more stable the western offshore region, metal concentrations are very low + organic complexes compared to Ni2 , following the Irving and can influence microbial community composition (Moore Williams series (Irving and Williams, 1953). Since ligand