Abstract
Current methods for biochemical and biogeochemical analysis of the deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems rely on water sample recovery, or in situ analysis using underwater instruments with limited range of analyte detection and limited sensitivity. Even in cases where large quantities of sample are recovered, labile dissolved organic compounds may not be detected due to time delays between sampling and preservation. Here, we present a novel approach for in situ extraction of organic compounds from hydrothermal vent fluids through a unique solid phase microextraction (SPME) sampler. These samplers were deployed to sample effluent of vents on sulphide chimneys, located on Axial Seamount in the North-East Pacific, in the Urashima field on the southern Mariana back-arc, and at the Hafa Adai site in the central Mariana back-arc. Among the compounds that were extracted, a wide range of unique organic compounds, including labile dissolved organic sulfur compounds, were detected through high-resolution LC-MS/MS, among which were biomarkers of anammox bacteria, fungi, and lower animals. This report is the first to show that SPME can contribute to a broader understanding of deep sea ecology and biogeochemical cycles in hydrothermal vent ecosystems.
Highlights
Www.nature.com/scientificreports and temperatures, they are difficult and expensive to build and maintain
We describe the use of a novel solid phase microextraction (SPME) device coined as the self-sealing thin film coated bolt sampler and demonstrate our proof-of-concept through in situ SPME sampling of temperature fluids venting through sulfide chimneys at three hydrothermal vent sites: Axial Seamount (El Gordo Vent) in the North-East Pacific, the Urashima site (Ultranochichi Vent) on the southern Mariana back-arc spreading centre, and the Hafa Adai site (Alba Vent) in the central Mariana back-arc
Novel coated bolt TF-SPME samplers were demonstrated to successfully extract a wide range of analytes from diffuse hydrothermal vents, as well as enable sample differentiation between vent samples and samples attained in distant control areas of the deep ocean
Summary
Www.nature.com/scientificreports and temperatures, they are difficult and expensive to build and maintain. Diffuse hydrothermal systems are good targets due to the presence of a rich DOM component which is further modified by microbial processes[9,10] One study by this group revealed that 83% of this DOM extracted from water samples was non-labile. In an in vivo study of mice metabolome, SPME was demonstrated to enable the capture of metabolites (e.g. glutathione) characterized by fast turnover rates and high instability not otherwise detectable via exhaustive methods such as solvent precipitation and ultrafiltration[13] In this regard, headspace SPME has already been successfully applied to detect volatile compounds released by volcanic-hydrothermal systems[14]. As reported by Tassi et al, characterization of volatile organic carbons (VOCs) released by volcanic-hydrothermal systems by SPME and solid trap (ST) methods followed by GC-MS analysis yielded very similar VOC contents[15]
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