M/Z: 353.0045

Grape berries fruit, condition: Ripe

Grape berries fruit, condition: Late

Grape berries fruit, condition: Late

Fig. 4 MALDI-MSI data of mouse lung tissue after administration with D9-choline and U13C-DPPC–containing Poractant alfa surfactant (labels administered 12 h prior to tissue collection). Ion images of (A) m/z 796.6856 ([U13C-DPPC+Na]+), (B) m/z 756.5154 [PC32:0+Na]+), and (C) m/z 765.6079 ([D9-PC32:0+Na]+). D: Overlay image of [U13C-PC32:0+Na]+ (red) and [D9-PC32:0+Na]+ (green). Part-per-million (ppm) mass errors are indicated in parentheses. All images were visualized using total-ion-current normalization and using hotspot removal (high quantile = 99%). DPPC = PC16:0/16:0. MSI, mass spectrometry imaging; PC, phosphatidylcholine; U13C-DPPC, universally 13C-labeled dipalmitoyl PC.

Seagrasses are one of the most efficient natural sinks of carbon dioxide (CO2) on Earth. Despite covering less than 0.1% of coastal regions, they have the capacity to bury up to 10% of marine organic matter and can bury the same amount of carbon 35 times faster than tropical rainforests. On land, the soil’s ability to sequestrate carbon is intimately linked to microbial metabolism. Despite the growing attention to the link between plant production, microbial communities, and the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems, these processes remain enigmatic in the sea. Here, we show that seagrasses excrete organic sugars, namely in the form of sucrose, into their rhizospheres. Surprisingly, the microbial communities living underneath meadows do not fully use this sugar stock in their metabolism. Instead, sucrose piles up in the sediments to mM concentrations underneath multiple types of seagrass meadows. Sediment incubation experiments show that microbial communities living underneath a meadow use sucrose at low metabolic rates. Our metagenomic analyses revealed that the distinct community of microorganisms occurring underneath meadows is limited in their ability to degrade simple sugars, which allows these compounds to persist in the environment over relatively long periods of time. Our findings reveal how seagrasses form blue carbon stocks despite the relatively small area they occupy. Unfortunately, anthropogenic disturbances are threatening the long-term persistence of seagrass meadows. Given that these sediments contain a large stock of sugars that heterotopic bacteria can degrade, it is even more important to protect these ecosystems from degradation.

The human colorectal adenocarcinoma sample was excised during a surgical operation performed at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. The sample and procedures were carried out in accordance with ethical approval (14/EE/0024).