The spatial distribution of archaeal lipids in a mesoscale subtropical watershed, Southeast China

Archaea play an important role in global carbon and nitrogen cycles. Archaeal lipids, such as isoprenoid glycerol diakyl glycerol tetraethers (iGDGTs), are important biomarkers tracing change in archaeal community structure and biogeochemical processes in the natural environments. In this research, the spatial distributions of archaeal lipids in the surface sediments of the Jiulong River (JR) and the Jiulong River estuary (JRE) were examined. GDGT-0 (containing zero cyclopentyl ring) and crenarchaeol were the most abundant iGDGTs in the JR and JRE. From the rivers to the estuary, the total iGDGTs, GDGT-0, crenarchaeol and archaeol concentrations showed significant spatial variation; in particular, GDGT-0 and archaeol in the river may be predominantly derived in situ from methanogens, whereas crenarchaeol in the estuary mainly derived in situ from Thaumarchaeota. We inferred that archaeal community was dominated by methanogens in the Jiulong River and by Thaumarchaeota in the Jiulong River estuary, which are consistent with change in archaeal community structure observed in other estuarine environments.