Heterotrophic microorganisms carry out the breakdown and transformation of organic matter into greenhouse gases. This process is mediated by hydrolytic enzymes, transporter proteins, and the central metabolic machinery of microbial cells interacting directly with extracellular organic material. These microbes are genetically diverse, which is believed to encode for high functional diversity. However, linking microbial identity to biogeochemical function is not trivial. I will discuss a variety of methods currently utilized for this purpose, including the development of isotope-enabled technologies aiming to quantify the taxon-specific activity of microbes in complex assemblages. In particular, LLNL has led the development of NanoSIMS imaging of high-density microarrays (called �Chip-SIP') to enable the quantitation of carbon and nitrogen incorporation by distinct microbial populations. I will discuss how these and other emerging methods can provide critical information needed for an increased understanding of microbial organic matter breakdown. The ultimate goal is that such methods, if carried out in the context of well-defined experiments and coupled with bulk analyses of elemental fluxes, can provide practical information for predictive modeling of large-scale ecosystem responses to environmental change.

Stable isotope probing and imaging mass spectrometry to link identity and function of microbes in complex assemblages

247th National Meeting (2014)

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