Environmental controls on bacterial tetraether membrane lipid distribution in soils

Over the last years a novel group of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) membrane lipids has been discovered in peat bogs and soils. They consist of components with 4–6 methyl groups attached to the n-alkyl chains and 0 to 2 cyclopentyl moieties in the alkyl chain. These branched membrane lipids are produced by an as yet unknown group of anaerobic soil bacteria. In this study we analysed the branched membrane lipid content of 134 soil samples from 90 globally distributed locations to study the environmental factors controlling the relative distribution of the different branched GDGT isomers. Our results show that the relative amount of cyclopentyl moieties, expressed in the cyclisation ratio of branched tetraethers (CBT), is primarily related to the pH of the soil (R2 = 0.70) and not to temperature (R2 = 0.03). The relative amount of methyl branches, expressed in the methylation index of branched tetraethers (MBT), is positively correlated with the annual mean air temperature (MAT) (R2 = 0.62) and, to a lesser extent, negatively correlated with the pH of the soil (R2 = 0.37). If both parameters are combined, however, it appears that the variation in the MBT is largely explained by both MAT and pH (R2 = 0.82). These results suggest that the relative distribution of soil-derived GDGT membrane lipids can be used in palaeoenvironmental studies to estimate past annual MAT and soil pH.