M/Z: 405.9981

Supplementary Figure S6. Ion distribution images for (a) [PC36:4+Na]+ (m/z 804.5514) and (b) [PC38:6+Na]+ (m/z 828.5515) obtained from mouse lung tissue collected 6 h after administration of D9- choline and U13C-DPPC–containing CHF5633. Parts-per-million (ppm) mass errors are indicated in parentheses. (c) Magnification of the boxed region in (a) with selected bronchiolar regions outlined in white boxes. (d) The corresponding H&E-stained tissue section with the same selected bronchiolar regions outlined in black boxes. These data demonstrate the co-localisation of the polyunsaturated lipids PC36:4 and PC38:6 with the bronchiolar regions of the lung. All MSI images were visualised using total ion current normalisation and hotspot removal (high quantile = 99%).

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.