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Evidence for substantial acetate presence in cutaneous earthworm mucus

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Short Original Communication
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Earthworm mucus is a ubiquitous source of C and N for soil biochemical processes and likely fuels direct interactions with other soil organisms; however, its chemical composition is little known and was the research question addressed by this research. A method was developed for the collection of sufficient amounts of cutaneous mucus from highly isotopically labelled earthworms with the objective to analyse mucus chemically by state-of-the-art nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques.

Materials and methods

A clean sand method was developed to collect cutaneous mucus from highly 13C, 15N-labelled endogeic earthworms (Allolobophora chlorotica). Mucus was analysed by 1D and 2D NMR.

Results and discussion

NMR spectra showed a complex mixture dominated by carbohydrates with a high aliphatic/lipid content and relatively few resonances for protein/peptide material. A very large contribution from acetate was detected, likely in the form of acetylated carbohydrates.

Conclusions

The ample presence of acetate is noteworthy because acetate is an important component in soil carbon cycling and methanogenic pathways. Earthworm mucus may be involved in novel direct biochemical interactions with soil (and possibly also sediment) microorganisms and plant roots that have not been recognised before.

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Acknowledgements

BK would like to thank the Irish Research Council (IRC), Postgraduate Award and iCRAG–Geological Survey of Ireland Environmental Geosciences Postgraduate Programme for the funding. We thank three reviewers for constructive comments.

Funding

GS was funded by a scholarship under the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) EMBARK Initiative.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    Ganna S. Shutenko & Olaf Schmidt

  2. School of Chemical Science, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin, 9, Ireland

    Brian P. Kelleher

  3. Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, M1C 1A4, Canada

    André J. Simpson, Ronald Soong & Yalda Liaghati Mobarhan

  4. UCD Earth Institute, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    Olaf Schmidt

Authors
  1. Ganna S. Shutenko
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  2. Brian P. Kelleher
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  3. André J. Simpson
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  4. Ronald Soong
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  5. Yalda Liaghati Mobarhan
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  6. Olaf Schmidt
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Correspondence to Olaf Schmidt.

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Responsible editor: Maria Manuela Abreu

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Shutenko, G.S., Kelleher, B.P., Simpson, A.J. et al. Evidence for substantial acetate presence in cutaneous earthworm mucus. J Soils Sediments 20, 3627–3632 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02674-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02674-4

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