Abstract
DISEQUILIBRIA within the mixture of organic matter, mineral particles and seawater in near-surface sediments result in extensive reaction, often biologically mediated. Variations in interstitial water composition are very sensitive indicators of the chemical and biological reactions in this zone of transition and the interaction between the water column and the permanent deposit1,2. Although most studies have been confined to inorganic ions, the few measurements of pore water DOC in marine sediments3–6 show large gradients in dissolved organic matter concentration within sediments and across the sediment–water interface. We describe here our study of dissolved amino acids in interstitial waters, which were used to trace some of the biogeochemical processes affecting organic matter in marine sediments. We have analysed the dissolved free amino acids in 15 interstitial water samples from four cores obtained in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts; the Gulf of Maine; and the North-west Atlantic continental rise. These pore waters have very high amino acid concentrations, of the order of 1 mg l−1. In addition, the distribution of individual amino acids differs substantially from that reported for seawater7,8, particularly in the large relative abundance of glutamic acid and β-aminoglutaric acid. β-aminoglutaric acid (HOOCCH2CH(NH2)CH2COOH) is an isomer of glutamic acid which, to our knowledge, has not been previously reported in the marine environment.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Berner, R. A. in The Benthic Boundary Layer (ed. McCave, I. N.) 33–55 (Plenum, New York, 1976).
Manheim, F. T. in Chemical Oceanography, Vol. 6 (eds Riley, J. P. & Chester, R.) 115–186 (Academic, New York, 1976).
Starikova, N. D. Oceanology 10, 796–807 (1970).
Krom, M. D. & Sholkovitz, E. R. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 41, 1565–1573 (1977).
Nissenbaum, A., Baedecker, M. J. & Kaplan, I. R. in Advances in Organic Geochemistry 1971 (eds von Gaertner, H. & Wehner, H.) 427–446 (Pergamon, London, 1972).
Karl, D. M., LaRock, P. A., Morse, J. W. & Sturges, W. Deep-Sea Res. 23, 81–88 (1976).
Lee, C. L. & Bada, J. L. Limnol. Oceanogr. 22, 502–510 (1977).
Crawford, C. C., Hobbie, J. E. & Webb, K. L. Ecology 55, 551–563 (1974).
Burke, J. Limnol. Oceanogr. 13, 714–718 (1968).
Jöhnson, J., Eyem, J. & Sjöquist, J. Analyt. Biochem. 51, 204–219 (1973).
Lawless, J. G. & Chadha, M. S. Analyt. Biochem. 44, 473–485 (1971).
Feuer, H. & Swartz, W. A. J. Am. chem. Soc. 77, 5427–5428 (1955).
Morris, R. J. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 39, 381–388 (1975).
Brown, F. S., Baedecker, M. J., Nissenbaum, A. & Kaplan, I. R. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 36, 1185–1203 (1972).
Whelan, J. K. J. Chromatogr. 111, 337–346 (1975).
Metzler, D. E. Biochemistry: The Chemical Reactions of Living Cells (Academic, New York, 1977).
Doelle, H. W. Bacterial Metabolism (Academic, New York, 1975).
Johannes, R. E., Coward, S. J. & Webb, K. L. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 29, 283–288 (1969).
Stephens, G. C. Biol. Bull. 149, 397–407 (1975).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
HENRICHS, S., FARRINGTON, J. Amino acids in interstitial waters of marine sediments. Nature 279, 319–322 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/279319a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/279319a0
This article is cited by
-
The spatio-temporal patterns and ecological significance of free amino acids and humic substances in contrasting oligotrophic and eutrophic freshwater ecosystems
Hydrobiologia (1996)
-
Contribution of the water-sediment interface to the transformation of biogenic substances: application to nitrogen compounds
Hydrobiologia (1990)
-
The effects of sediment slurrying on microbial processes, and the role of amino acids as substrates for sulfate reduction in anoxic marine sediments
Biogeochemistry (1989)
-
Nutrition and development of brooded embryos in the brittlestar Amphipholis squamata: do endosymbiotic bacteria play a role?
Marine Biology (1989)
-
Patterns of amino acid utilization by aquatic hyphomycetes
Oecologia (1982)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.