Dual stable isotope probing has been used to infer rates of microbial biomass production and modes of carbon fixation. In order to validate this approach for assessing archaeal production, the methanogenic archaeon Methanosarcina barkeri was grown either with H2 , acetate or methanol with D2 O and 13 C-dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Our results revealed unexpectedly low D incorporation into lipids, with the net fraction of water-derived hydrogen amounting to 0.357 ± 0.042, 0.226 ± 0.003 and 0.393 ± 0.029 for growth on H2 /CO2 , acetate and methanol respectively. The variability in net water H assimilation into lipids during the growth of M. barkeri on different substrates is possibly attributed to different Gibbs free energy yields, such that higher energy yield promoted the exchange of hydrogen between medium water and lipids. Because NADPH likely serves as the portal for H transfer, increased NADPH production and/or turnover associated with high energy yield may explain the apparent differences in net water H assimilation into lipids. The variable DIC and water H incorporation into M. barkeri lipids imply systematic, metabolic patterns of isotope incorporation and suggest that the ratio of 13 C-DIC versus D2 O assimilation in environmental samples may serve as a proxy for microbial energetics in addition to microbial production and carbon assimilation pathways.
© 2020 The Authors. Environmental Microbiology Reports published by Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.