TY - JOUR
T1 - The microbial carbon pump and climate change
AU - Jiao, Nianzhi
AU - Luo, Tingwei
AU - Chen, Quanrui
AU - Zhao, Zhao
AU - Xiao, Xilin
AU - Liu, Jihua
AU - Jian, Zhimin
AU - Xie, Shucheng
AU - Thomas, Helmuth
AU - Herndl, Gerhard J.
AU - Benner, Ronald
AU - Gonsior, Micheal
AU - Chen, Feng
AU - Cai, Wei-Jun
AU - Robinson, Carol
N1 - Funding Information: This work is supported by the National Science Foundation of China (42188102), the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) ONCE project and the UNESCO-IOC, the joint PICES/ICES Working Group 46.
PY - 2024/7
Y1 - 2024/7
N2 - The ocean has been a regulator of climate change throughout the history of Earth. One key mechanism is the mediation of the carbon reservoir by refractory dissolved organic carbon (RDOC), which can either be stored in the water column for centuries or released back into the atmosphere as CO2 depending on the conditions. The RDOC is produced through a myriad of microbial metabolic and ecological processes known as the microbial carbon pump (MCP). Here, we review recent research advances in processes related to the MCP, including the distribution patterns and molecular composition of RDOC, links between the complexity of RDOC compounds and microbial diversity, MCP-driven carbon cycles across time and space, and responses of the MCP to a changing climate. We identify knowledge gaps and future research directions in the role of the MCP, particularly as a key component in integrated approaches combining the mechanisms of the biological and abiotic carbon pumps for ocean negative carbon emissions.
AB - The ocean has been a regulator of climate change throughout the history of Earth. One key mechanism is the mediation of the carbon reservoir by refractory dissolved organic carbon (RDOC), which can either be stored in the water column for centuries or released back into the atmosphere as CO2 depending on the conditions. The RDOC is produced through a myriad of microbial metabolic and ecological processes known as the microbial carbon pump (MCP). Here, we review recent research advances in processes related to the MCP, including the distribution patterns and molecular composition of RDOC, links between the complexity of RDOC compounds and microbial diversity, MCP-driven carbon cycles across time and space, and responses of the MCP to a changing climate. We identify knowledge gaps and future research directions in the role of the MCP, particularly as a key component in integrated approaches combining the mechanisms of the biological and abiotic carbon pumps for ocean negative carbon emissions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85187885906&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41579-024-01018-0
DO - 10.1038/s41579-024-01018-0
M3 - Review article
VL - 22
SP - 408
EP - 419
JO - Nature Reviews Microbiology
JF - Nature Reviews Microbiology
SN - 1740-1526
IS - 7
ER -
