An empirical estimation of microbial sulfur quotas and carbon to sulfur ratios of the marine microbiome
Category: Research Poster
Author(s): Mason Kimberlin, Ed Hall
Presenter(s): Mason Kimberlin
Mentors(s): Ed Hall
Sulfur is an essential element for life and key part of microbial catabolic and anabolic processes that drive marine biogeochemistry. The existing literature on ecological stoichiometry has primarily focused on carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) with less attention being paid to sulfur (S). As such, direct measurements of S in marine microbes are few and far between. Quantitative methods for S have really lagged in oceanography, and those that do exist have analytical challenges. In this study we use energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to assess S content in single bacterial cells from natural marine microbiomes. We first created a calibration constant for sulfur and compared it to existing and similarly derived conversion factors for N and P. We then compare our cell quotas for S and C:S ratios derived from EDS to published values derived from independent methods. Single cell spectroscopy, although laborious, provides the opportunity to better link the ecology of individual bacteria with the environment that drives their biochemical composition and ultimately global biogeochemical cycles.