Direct incorporation of fatty acids into microbial phospholipids in soils: Position-specific labeling tells the story

Fatty acids have been used as plant and microbial biomarkers, and knowledge about their transformation pathways in soils and sediments is crucial for interpreting fatty acid signatures, especially because the formation, recycling and decomposition processes are concurrent. We analyzed the incorporation of free fatty acids into microbial fatty acids in soil by coupling position-specific 13C labeling with compound-specific 13C analysis. Position-specifically and uniformly 13C labeled palmitate were applied in an agricultural Luvisol. Pathways of fatty acids were traced by analyzing microbial utilization of 13C from individual molecule positions of palmitate and their incorporation into phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). The fate of palmitate 13C in the soil was characterized by the main pathways of microbial fatty acid metabolism: Odd positions (C-1) were preferentially oxidized to CO2 in the citric acid cycle, whereas even positions (C-2) were preferentially incorporated into microbial biomass. This pattern is a result of palmitate cleavage to acetyl-CoA and its further use in the main pathways of C metabolism. We observed a direct, intact incorporation of more than 4% of the added palmitate into the PLFA of microbial cell membranes, indicating the important role of palmitate as direct precursor for microbial fatty acids. Palmitate 13C was incorporated into PLFA as intact alkyl chain, i.e. the C backbone of palmitate was not cleaved, but palmitate was incorporated either intact or modified (e.g. desaturated, elongated or branched) according to the fatty acid demand of the microbial community. These modifications of the incorporated palmitate increased with time. Future PLFA studies must therefore consider the recycling of existing plant and microbial-derived fatty acids. This study demonstrates the intact uptake and recycling of free fatty acids such as palmitate in soils, as well as the high turnover and transformation of cellular PLFA. Knowledge about the intact uptake and use of soil-derived free fatty acids is crucial for interpreting microbial fatty acid fingerprints and their isotopic composition.