oa Bacteriohopanepolyols in Tropical and Temperate Peatlands

Bacteriohopanepolyols have been identified in 9 tropical and temperate peatlands using reverse phase liquid chromatography coupled to an Orbitrap Mass spectrometer. BHPs varied among sites by type, abundance, and downcore distribution, however the most stark differences were in the abundance of the aminoBHPs. AminoBHPs have been identified as a biomarker to distinguish between type 1 and type 2 methanotrophs which are hard to identify using genetic approaches. AminoBHPs, especially aminopentol, have not been identified in high concentrations in previous studies on temperate peatlands, or in temperate peatlands in this study. Even so, in some tropical peatlands in this study, aminopentol concentration exceeded that of the more ubiquitous BHPs - aminotriol and BHT. It seemed that aminopentol concentration correlated with high methane fluxes, and where high aminopentol concentration is seen it is assumed that there is a higher concentration of type 1 methanotrophs since aminopentol is a biomarker for type 1 methanotrophy.