Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31541087›Full record

ArticleNature communications2019

Mesophilic microorganisms build terrestrial mats analogous to Precambrian microbial jungles.

N Finke, R L Simister, A H O'Neil, S Nomosatryo, C Henny, L C MacLean, D E Canfield, K Konhauser, S V Lalonde, D A Fowle and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. A novel quinone biosynthetic pathway illuminates the evolution of aerobic metabolism.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Triple oxygen isotope constraints on atmospheric OProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021
    Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

N FinkeDepartments of Microbiology and Immunology and Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
R L SimisterDepartments of Microbiology and Immunology and Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9807-8652
A H O'NeilHealthy Waterways, Brisbane, Australia.
S NomosatryoResearch center for Limnology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jawa Barat, Indonesia.
C HennyResearch center for Limnology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jawa Barat, Indonesia.
L C MacLeanIndependent researcher, Halifax, Canada.
D E CanfieldNordic center for earth evolution (NordCEE), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
K KonhauserDepartment of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
S V LalondeEuropean Institute for Marine Studies, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Plouzané, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1318-2280
D A FowleDepartment of Geology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
S A CroweDepartments of Microbiology and Immunology and Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. sean.crowe@ubc.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8071-2144

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Development of Archean paleosols and patterns of Precambrian rock weathering suggest colonization of continents by subaerial microbial mats long before evolution of land plants in the Phanerozoic Eon. Modern analogues for such mats, however, have not been reported, and possible biogeochemical roles of these mats in the past remain largely conceptual. We show that photosynthetic, subaerial microbial mats from Indonesia grow on mafic bedrocks at ambient temperatures and form distinct layers with features similar to Precambrian mats and paleosols. Such subaerial mats could have supported a substantial aerobic biosphere, including nitrification and methanotrophy, and promoted methane emissions and oxidative weathering under ostensibly anoxic Precambrian atmospheres. High C-turnover rates and cell abundances would have made these mats prime locations for early microbial diversification. Growth of landmass in the late Archean to early Proterozoic Eons could have reorganized biogeochemical cycles between land and sea impacting atmospheric chemistry and climate.

Indexed as

AtmosphereClimateEarth, PlanetGeological PhenomenaGeologyIndonesiaMethaneMicrobiological PhenomenaMicrobiotaModels, ChemicalOrganic Chemistry PhenomenaOxidation-ReductionOxygenPhotosynthesisMethaneOxygen

Identifiers

PMID31541087
PMCPMC6754388

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.