Isotopic fractionation of nitrogen and carbon in Paleoarchean cherts from Pilbara craton, Western Australia: Origin of 15N-depleted nitrogen

Pinti, Daniele L.; Hashizume, K.; Sugihara, A.; Massault, M.; Philippot, Pascal

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2009.03.014

Cited by 53 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…If such processes were relatively unimportant, the isotopic composition of ammonium at the time, and thus the δ 15 N of organic matter in sediments, may have more directly reflected the δ 15 N of N introduced by N 2 fixation. In any case, the lowest δ 15 N (-6‰ to -7‰) measured during the early Archean (48)(49)(50) are, as during the Cretaceous OAE, most consistent with N 2 fixation by an alternative nitrogenase ( Fig. 1 B and C).…”

mentioning

confidence: 59%

“…Given the uncertain influences of long-term diagenesis on δ 15 N and the poorly constrained biogeochemistry of Archean N cycling, it is difficult to make definitive statements on the causes of extremely low δ 15 N values (<-2‰, reaching as low as -7‰) that have been measured repeatedly in kerogen-rich, early Archean sediments (48)(49)(50)(51). Nonetheless, previous studies have attributed low values to biological processes, including N 2 fixation (50,51).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Nitrogen isotope fractionation by alternative nitrogenases and past ocean anoxia

Zhang¹,

Sigman²,

Morel³

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

169

172

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Biological nitrogen fixation constitutes the main input of fixed nitrogen to Earth's ecosystems, and its isotope effect is a key parameter in isotope-based interpretations of the N cycle. The nitrogen isotopic composition (δ 15 N) of newly fixed N is currently believed to be ∼-1‰, based on measurements of organic matter from diazotrophs using molybdenum (Mo)-nitrogenases. We show that the vanadium (V)-and iron (Fe)-only "alternative" nitrogenases produce fixed N with significantly lower δ 15 N (-6 to -7‰). An important contribution of alternative nitrogenases to N 2 fixation provides a simple explanation for the anomalously low δ 15 N (<-2‰) in sediments from the Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Events and the Archean Eon. A significant role for the alternative nitrogenases over Mo-nitrogenase is also consistent with evidence of Mo scarcity during these geologic periods, suggesting an additional dimension to the coupling between the global cycles of trace elements and nitrogen. Mo is ∼+2‰ (3-6)], which is thought to be the most abundant in nature. As a result, the δ 15 N of newly fixed N is ∼-1‰ (i.e., ∼+2‰ lower than the δ 15 N of dissolved N 2 substrate, +0.7‰, Fig. 1A).In addition to Mo-nitrogenase (the most common form of the enzyme), diazotrophs can possess two other nitrogenase isozymes (7). These so-called "alternative" nitrogenases differ chiefly from Mo-nitrogenases in that V or Fe replaces Mo in the active site. They also contain an additional protein subunit and exhibit slower kinetics compared with the Mo-nitrogenase (8). Such differences could result in distinct isotope effects, a possibility supported by Rowell et al. (9), who reported small but significant variations in biomass δ 15 N from growth of wild-type diazotrophs possessing all three isozymes in media containing Fe and amendments of Mo, V, or neither metal. However, the use of multiple nitrogenase isozymes in the wild type (10) precludes the direct association between biomass δ 15 N and the isotope effect of a particular isozyme. Here we (i) measured directly the isotope effects for Mo-, V-, and Fe-only nitrogenases using diazotroph mutant strains that could express only a single nitrogenase isozyme, (ii) determined the impact of metal limitation on alternative nitrogenase use and N isotope fractionation in wild-type bacteria, and (iii) provide several examples of how these results on N isotope fractionation may change our understanding of the N cycle in the past. Results and DiscussionIsotope Fractionation During Nitrogen Fixation by Mo-, V-, and Fe-only Nitrogenases. We measured the in vivo isotope effect associated with each type of nitrogenase in two phylogenetically and metabolically distinct diazotrophic bacteria, Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Azotobacter vinelandii. R. palustris is an alpha-proteobacterium. It fixes N 2 anaerobically and was grown under anaerobic and photoheterotrophic conditions. A. vinelandii is a gamma-proteobacterium. It fixes N 2 aerobically and was grown under aerobic chemoheterotrophic conditions. All three nitroge...

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mentioning

confidence: 59%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen isotope fractionation by alternative nitrogenases and past ocean anoxia

Zhang¹,

Sigman²,

Morel³

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

169

172

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“…Thus, this process alone cannot explain the much lower N isotope values, down to -6%, reported for Archean sediments (Beaumont and Robert 1999;Pinti and Hashizume 2001;Papineau et al 2005;Pinti et al 2009). One model for generating 15 N-depleted values in anoxic systems (e.g., Fry et al 1991;Voss et al 1997;Coban-Yildiz et al 2006;Junium and Arthur 2007;Papineau et al 2009) invokes the uptake of isotopically light ammonium formed by the degradation of organic N in sediments and in the lower part of the water column.…”

Section: Sources Of Negative D 15 N Values In the Archean Biospherementioning

confidence: 89%

Geological constraints on the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis

2010

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This article examines the geological evidence for the rise of atmospheric oxygen and the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis. The evidence for the rise of atmospheric oxygen places a minimum time constraint before which oxygenic photosynthesis must have developed, and was subsequently established as the primary control on the atmospheric oxygen level. The geological evidence places the global rise of atmospheric oxygen, termed the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), between ~2.45 and ~2.32 Ga, and it is captured within the Duitschland Formation, which shows a transition from mass-independent to mass-dependent sulfur isotope fractionation. The rise of atmospheric oxygen during this interval is closely associated with a number of environmental changes, such as glaciations and intense continental weathering, and led to dramatic changes in the oxidation state of the ocean and the seawater inventory of transition elements. There are other features of the geologic record predating the GOE by as much as 200-300 million years, perhaps extending as far back as the Mesoarchean-Neoarchean boundary at 2.8 Ga, that suggest the presence of low level, transient or local, oxygenation. If verified, these features would not only imply an earlier origin for oxygenic photosynthesis, but also require a mechanism to decouple oxygen production from oxidation of Earth's surface environments. Most hypotheses for the GOE suggest that oxygen production by oxygenic photosynthesis is a precondition for the rise of oxygen, but that a synchronous change in atmospheric oxygen level is not required by the onset of this oxygen source. The potential lag-time in the response of Earth surface environments is related to the way that oxygen sinks, such as reduced Fe and sulfur compounds, respond to oxygen production. Changes in oxygen level imply an imbalance in the sources and sinks for oxygen. Changes in the cycling of oxygen have occurred at various times before and after the GOE, and do not appear to require corresponding changes in the intensity of oxygenic photosynthesis. The available geological constraints for these changes do not, however, disallow a direct role for this metabolism. The geological evidence for early oxygen and hypotheses for the controls on oxygen level are the basis for the interpretation of photosynthetic oxygen production as examined in this review.

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“…In rocks between 3.8 Gyr and 3.5 Gyr, negative values down to -4.4‰ (Fig. 6, 7) have been interpreted as representing hydrothermal NH 4 + assimilation by thermophilic microbes (Pinti et al, 2001;Pinti et al, 2009), metasomatic alteration (Li et al, 2014;van Zuilen et al, 2005), or biological N 2 fixation with alternative V or Fe nitrogenases (Zhang et al, 2014). Positive values up to +12.2‰ from rocks of similar age are most commonly interpreted as reflecting metamorphic overprinting, which is known to increase δ 15 N (Papineau et al, 2005;Thomazo and Papineau, 2013).…”

Section: Hadean and Paleoarchean (~46 -35 Gyr)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The entire range of values could in theory also result from biological processes ( Table 1). However, many of these samples are metamorphosed to amphibolite facies and/or were collected from hydrothermal veins (Beaumont and Robert, 1999;Pinti et al, 2001;Pinti et al, 2009;Ueno et al, 2004). Secondary alteration can therefore not be ruled out at this stage, prohibiting any firm conclusions about the Paleoarchean nitrogen cycle.…”

Section: Hadean and Paleoarchean (~46 -35 Gyr)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

Stüeken

Kipp

Koehler

et al. 2016

Earth-Science Reviews

310

287

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Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for all life on Earth and it acts as a major control on biological productivity in the modern ocean. Accurate reconstructions of the evolution of life over the course of the last four billion years therefore demand a better understanding of nitrogen bioavailability and speciation through time. The biogeochemical nitrogen cycle has evidently been closely tied to the redox state of the ocean and atmosphere. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that the Earth"s surface has passed in a non-linear fashion from an anoxic state in the Hadean to an oxic state in the later Phanerozoic. It is therefore likely that the nitrogen cycle has changed markedly over time, with potentially severe implications for the productivity and evolution of the biosphere. Here we compile nitrogen isotope data from the literature and review our current understanding of the evolution of the nitrogen cycle, with particular emphasis on the Precambrian. Combined with recent work on redox conditions, trace metal availability, sulfur and iron cycling on the early Earth, we then use the nitrogen isotope record as a platform to test existing and new hypotheses about biogeochemical pathways that may have controlled nitrogen availability through time. Among other things, we conclude that (a) abiotic nitrogen sources were likely insufficient to sustain a large biosphere, thus favoring an early origin of biological N 2 fixation, (b) evidence of nitrate in the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic confirm current views of increasing surface oxygen levels at those times, (c) abundant ferrous iron and sulfide in the midPrecambrian ocean may have affected the speciation and size of the fixed nitrogen reservoir, and (d) nitrate availability alone was not a major driver of eukaryotic evolution.

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Isotopic fractionation of nitrogen and carbon in Paleoarchean cherts from Pilbara craton, Western Australia: Origin of 15N-depleted nitrogen

Cited by 53 publications

References 93 publications

Nitrogen isotope fractionation by alternative nitrogenases and past ocean anoxia

Nitrogen isotope fractionation by alternative nitrogenases and past ocean anoxia

Geological constraints on the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis

The evolution of Earth's biogeochemical nitrogen cycle

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