Long-chain alkanediols: biological markers for cyanobacterial contributions to sediments.

One significant family of sedimentary lipids of widespread occurrence are series of C28-C32 alkanediols and hydroxyketones. The recognition of the same series of alkanediols as major lipid components of a field population of the cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon flos-aquae leads us to propose that these lipids are markers for cyanobacterial inputs to sediments. The frequency of occurrence of the alkanediols in sedimentary environments supports the recent finding that cyanobacteria are major contributors to the aquatic biomass.