Short-chain n-alkanes in benthic mats and mosses from the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica

Short-chain n-alkanes in benthic mats and mosses from the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica

Chatterjee, Subham (Presidency University, Kolkata)
Das, Supriyo Kumar (Presidency University, Kolkata)
Behera, Pravat Kumar (Presidency University, Kolkata)
Ghosh, D. (TU Delft Sanitary Engineering; Indian Institute of Science)
Chakraborty, Arindam (Academia Sinica)
Patel, Priyank Pravin (Presidency University, Kolkata)
Ikehara, Minoru (Kochi University)

2023

Variation in leaf colour (green, red and grey) of mosses and lake benthic mats in Antarctica is often linked to water stress and ultraviolet light (UV-B) exposure. Changes in the abundance of organic compounds, such as pectin and phenols, are associated with mechanisms protecting against desiccation and UV radiation. However, the function of n-alkanes, especially against UV radiation, is rarely examined. Here, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analyses were performed to study the variation in n-alkanes in freshwater lake benthic mats and mosses collected from the Larsemann Hills in East Antarctica. Stable isotopes of organic carbon and nitrogen, environmental DNA characterisation and microscopy-based analyses are used to estimate the presence of cyanobacteria, algae and diatoms in moss and benthic mat consortia. Variation in the short-chain (n-C₁₇ to n-C₂₀) versus long-chain (n-C₂₁ to n-C₃₀) n-alkanes in the mosses and benthic mats with their colour were noted. The research links the relative abundance of short-chain n-alkanes to the UV-B exposure and proposes that Antarctic mosses and benthic mats synthesise short-chain n-alkanes for protection against UV-B.

Antarctica
Benthic mat
Larsemann Hills
Moss
n-alkanes
Ultraviolet radiation

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:9f8568c0-c53e-40de-9b7a-7167ffcb03ec

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2023.104587

2023-09-17

0146-6380

Organic Geochemistry, 179

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Institutional Repository

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© 2023 Subham Chatterjee, Supriyo Kumar Das, Pravat Kumar Behera, D. Ghosh, Arindam Chakraborty, Priyank Pravin Patel, Minoru Ikehara