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Bioavailable phosphite in the surface ocean during the Great Oxidation Event

Author

Listed:
  • Abu Saeed Baidya
  • Joanne S. Boden
  • Yuhao Li

    (Earth Sciences Building)

  • Albertus J. B. Smith

    (Auckland Park)

  • Kurt O. Konhauser

    (Earth Sciences Building
    University of Manchester)

  • Eva E. Stüeken

Abstract

Phosphorus availability has influenced the co-evolution of life and Earth’s environments. While phosphate was likely the main phosphorus source for life during the Archean, phosphite (HPO32−) gained importance leading up to the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). However, the concentration of phosphite in seawater at that time, and the processes driving this shift in P utilization, remain poorly constrained. Using lab experiments and phosphite data from banded iron formations (BIFs), we show that hydrous ferric oxides (HFO) preferentially remove phosphate over phosphite. This suggests that shallow seawater at the onset of the GOE could have contained up to 0.17 µM phosphite, comprising 5–88% of total dissolved inorganic phosphorus. We propose that phosphate depletion driven by HFO adsorption and microbial competition may have promoted the use of phosphite as an alternative P source.

Suggested Citation

  • Abu Saeed Baidya & Joanne S. Boden & Yuhao Li & Albertus J. B. Smith & Kurt O. Konhauser & Eva E. Stüeken, 2025. "Bioavailable phosphite in the surface ocean during the Great Oxidation Event," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-59963-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59963-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christopher T. Reinhard & Noah J. Planavsky & Benjamin C. Gill & Kazumi Ozaki & Leslie J. Robbins & Timothy W. Lyons & Woodward W. Fischer & Chunjiang Wang & Devon B. Cole & Kurt O. Konhauser, 2017. "Evolution of the global phosphorus cycle," Nature, Nature, vol. 541(7637), pages 386-389, January.
    2. Joanne S. Boden & Juntao Zhong & Rika E. Anderson & Eva E. Stüeken, 2024. "Timing the evolution of phosphorus-cycling enzymes through geological time using phylogenomics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Noah J. Planavsky & Olivier J. Rouxel & Andrey Bekker & Stefan V. Lalonde & Kurt O. Konhauser & Christopher T. Reinhard & Timothy W. Lyons, 2010. "The evolution of the marine phosphate reservoir," Nature, Nature, vol. 467(7319), pages 1088-1090, October.
    4. Barry Herschy & Sae Jung Chang & Ruth Blake & Aivo Lepland & Heather Abbott-Lyon & Jacqueline Sampson & Zachary Atlas & Terence P. Kee & Matthew A. Pasek, 2018. "Archean phosphorus liberation induced by iron redox geochemistry," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.
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