Laboratory Production of Mineral-Associated Organic Matter using Synthetic Biology

Soil organic carbon is the largest terrestrial reservoir of carbon and is one target for the sequestration and management of atmospheric CO 2 . While some of this carbon pool is easily remineralized to CO 2 , a fraction is stored in stable organomineral associates that persist for centennia to millenia, termed mineralassociated organic matter (MAOM). MAOM can act as stable, long-term storage for fixed atmospheric carbon. However, our understanding of the inherent controls on MAOM stability is limited due to its chemical complexity, small size, and diverse mechanisms of formation. It has also been hypothesized that changing environmental conditions could increase or decrease MAOM remineralization, but we currently lack a model MAOM material to use in controlled laboratory experiments.