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Evidence for only minor contributions from bacteria to sedimentary organic carbonBecause their molecular signatures are often prominent in extracts of sediments, bacteria are thought to be important contributors to petroleum source beds. It has been shown recently, however, that abundances of biomarkers do not always reflect relative contributions to sedimentary organic carbon (Corg). The contribution of photosynthetic green sulphur bacteria to sediments can be assessed effectively because the diagenetic products of distinctive carotenoids from these organisms occur widely and their biomass is isotopically labelled, being enriched in 13C. We show here that, although sediments and oils from the Western Canada and Williston basins contain prominent biomarkers of photosynthetic bacteria, the absence of 13C enrichment in the total Corg requires that the bacterial contribution is in fact minimal. Although the importance of bacterial reworking of sedimentary debris cannot be doubted, we argue that our findings, when considered in conjunction with those from other settings, suggest that bacterial biomass may commonly represent only a minor component of total Corg in carbonaceous rocks.
Document ID
20040089691
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Hartgers, W. A.
(Netherlands Institute for Sea Research Texel)
Sinninghe Damste, J. S.
Requejo, A. G.
Allan, J.
Hayes, J. M.
de Leeuw, J. W.
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
May 19, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Nature
Volume: 369
ISSN: 0028-0836
Subject Category
Exobiology
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
NASA Discipline Exobiology
Non-NASA Center

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