Biomarker Analysis of Microbial Diversity in Sediments of a Saline Groundwater Seep of Salt Basin, Nebraska
Organic Geochemistry Organic Geochemistry 37 (2006) 912–931 www.elsevier.com/locate/orggeochem Biomarker analysis of microbial diversity in sediments of a saline groundwater seep of Salt Basin, Nebraska Jiasong Fang a,*, Olivia Chan a, R.M. Joeckel b, Yongsong Huang c, Yi Wang c, Dennis A. Bazylinski d, Thomas B. Moorman e, Barbara J. Ang Clement f a Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, United States b Conservation and Survey Division, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0517, United States c Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Providence, RI 02912, United States d Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, United States e USDA/ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory, 2150 Pammel Drive, Ames, IA 50011-4420, United States f Department of Biology, Doane College, Crete, NE 68333, United States Received 29 June 2005; received in revised form 13 March 2006; accepted 14 April 2006 Available online 22 June 2006 Abstract Lipids extracted from sediments in a saline seep in the Salt Basin of Lancaster County, Nebraska included alkanes, alk- enes, alkanols, phytol, C27–30 sterols, C30–32 hopanoids, tetrahymanol, glycolipid and phospholipid fatty acids, and lipo- polysaccharide hydroxyl fatty acids. Biomarker profiles suggest that the brine seeps of Salt Basin support a microbial ecosystem adapted to a relatively highly saline and sulfidic environment. The phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and lipopoly- saccharide hydroxyl fatty acid profiles are consistent with the presence of large numbers of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in black, sulfidic muds surrounding the seeps.
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