Preface

The Joint European Stable Isotope Users Group Meeting (JESIUM) 2004 was the first formal gathering of European stable isotope scientists, receiving support from the respective isotope users groups in Austria (SINA), Germany (GASIR), France (SFIS), Benelux (BIG) and the UK (SIMSUG), with additional speakers and participants from Europe (Italy and Poland), the Americas (USA and Canada) and Australasia (Australia and New Zealand). A selection of ten papers presented at the meeting are published in this issue.1-10 Stable isotopes now play a major role in almost every branch of natural science imaginable. JESIUM 2004 was indeed a testament to this; with over 200 participants from backgrounds as diverse as forensics and physics, and numerous representatives of commercial sponsors: Campro, Chemotrade, CK Gas, Cortecnet, Costech, Elemental Micro-analysis, Elementar, Euriso-Top, Fisher Analytical, Gas-oil, GV Instruments, Hekatech, Iso-Analytical, IVA, Sercon, Spectragas, Spectronex, Thermo, and Wagner. The free exchange of knowledge and ideas between scientists and manufacturers at such user group meetings has been one of the main driving forces of the successful co-evolution of stable isotope science. The intention of JESIUM 2004 was to harness the spirit of the established national meetings and to scale it up to a European level, in order to broaden the scope beyond national borders, to discuss ideas/methodologies, to foster new collaborations, and to provide a platform to air future ideas and applications in stable isotope research. In the opening speeches, Erik Busch-Petersen, Deputy Director of the Food and Agriculture Organisation/International Atomic Energy Agency (FAO/IAEA) Joint Division, highlighted the important role isotopes have played in increasing crop production globally and Professor Marianne Popp, University of Vienna, explored the history of the isotopes in plant science. Dietary habits examined using stable isotopes may provide us with critical information about historical diets, migrations and extinctions (Petzke, McCullagh, Stevens, Lubritto, Reynard, Taylor). However, differences in isotopic signatures between populations requires a thorough understanding of the processes driving the variations (keynote; O'Connell). Improved understanding of present-day dietary phenomena such as obesity, diabetes and metabolic diseases, and age-old phenomena such as malnutrition, are being aided by labelled and natural abundance studies, as it is now routinely possible to trace stable isotopes in blood, breath, urine, hair, or even specific compounds (Mokhtar, Schierbeek, Stellard, Schadewaldt, Auerswald, Slater, van Dijk). Compound-specific isotopic analyses are being employed to catch the fraudsters of Olympic proportions, to determine whether specific ‘sport’ hormones are natural or drug induced (e.g. Hebestreit, Guntner). Gunter et al., with their poster ‘Measurement of D/H and 13C/12C in endogenous steroids can reveal transdermal application of testosterone’ were awarded one of the conference prizes for best poster. Carbon (13C) isotopes can elucidate the mysteries of the global carbon cycle, unravel complex food webs, and allow us to link molecular form with function, using stable isotope probing and compound-specific techniques (keynote, Ineson). Isotopes offer avenues of understanding in other issues of global concern, such as biodiversity (Khamen, Temperton), greenhouse gas exchange (Giesemann, Feurdean, Florian, Strict, Schneckenberger, Pörtl, Well, Del Galdo, van Groenigen), and heavy metal pollution (Stemmer). Natural isotope discrimination can be a useful selection criterion for plant breeders (Dercon and Cagirgan); it can also be useful in food web analysis (Gebauer, Vervaele, Sare, Pasmandi, Morvan, Männel, Rogers), as can labelling studies (Fischer). How stable isotopes can begin to unveil the ebbs and flows of entire forest ecosystems was explored in depth (Boeckx, Haberhauer, Di Matteo, Kurz-Besson, Tonon and Rubino). The use of isotopes in agronomic programmes and long-term environmental impact studies was also presented (Dignac, Gerzabek). How the study of isotopic fractionation during dark respiration in plant leaves, and associated physiological understanding, feeds into global climate models was elegantly demonstrated in the keynote by Ghashghaie. δ13C signatures are providing information on changes in physiological parameters such as water use efficiency in response to rising global CO2 (Saurer, Auerswald, Hietz and Setlik) and ozone concentrations (Jäggi). Even beetles do not escape; compound-specific isotope studies are being used to determine the origin of defence compounds in larvae (Soe). Human medicine was also shown to be benefiting from isotopic advances. Patient acceptance and advances in mass spectrometry and NMR are allowing investigations of effects such as colonic fermentation, gastric emptying and glucose kinetics, leading to a better understanding of a number of important human diseases (Ferchaud-Roucher, Jackson, Bluck, Zhang). The natural isotopic signatures of biospheric-atmospheric CO2 exchange provide important information on ecosystem physiology and trace gas exchange as highlighted in the keynote by Buchmann. In a neat analysis of increasing CO2 concentrations and atmospheric pollution from NO2, Siegwolf and colleagues isotopically visualised how changes in the environment leave a fingerprint on the ecosystem. Studies of elevated labelled CO2 in forests confirmed that saprobic fungi feed on old carbon, and that soil respires a significant amount of old carbon (Keel). Soil respiration experiments also revealed that, at higher temperatures in artic soils, more recalcitrant carbon is respired (Biasi) and elucidated the mechanisms of priming effects (Kuzyakov). The link between soil processes and global atmospheric impacts was further stressed in investigations of grassland ecosystems labelled with 13C to estimate mean residence times of carbon (Klumpp) and root respiration studies (Werth). Even tropospheric isotopic exchange mechanisms are being investigated using isotopes (Shaheen). The winning poster for the Wiley sponsored prize, by Marca et al., presented precise measurement of oxygen. Using a newly developed mass spectrometer, they demonstrated how O2/CO2 exchange ratios can be used to quantify the global terrestrial reserve of carbon, and suggested that the reserve may have been slightly underestimated. The evolution from custom-made to fully automated online integrated mass spectrometers has offered us greater measurement and experimental scope (keynote, Brand). In addition to the instrument innovation there has also been a significant amount of process innovation, leading to faster and more accurate sample preparation. Examples of such were provided for sulfur, nitrous oxide, 18O in cellulose, and water (Yun, Beheydt, Brooks, Barkan, Gehre, Stuart-Williams). Old problems and new innovations were extensively discussed (Assonov, Brookes, Beheydt, Dhur, Valkiers, Phillips, Tresl, Krummen, Brockwell). The future of isotope ratio measurements may be the laser. The advantages in both measurement speed and cost could push the boundaries of isotope science still further into the realms of hydrology, atmospheric chemistry, and plant physiology (keynote, Kerstel). More down-to-earth studies of earthquakes, soil gas, water and paleoclimate were also presented (Brauer, Böttcher, Kharkhordin, Spötl, Trettin, Boch, Auerswald). How stable isotopes can be used to quantify and identify protein expression in the growing world of proteomics, leading to better understanding of cell malfunction, was demonstrated in the keynote by Conrads. The potential of 15N for stable isotope probing was presented, a technique which will not only allow isolation and identification of a number of nitrogen-fixing organisms, but also provide opportunities to explore other global N issues at a molecular level (Cadish). Fascinating forensic isotope tales showed how isotopes could trace the last known origin or living location of both meat and murder (Kelly, Meier-Augenstein). Glaser showed how individual sugars derived from plant or slurries can be identified in the soil environment. In conclusion, as complexity, costs and minimal sample size decrease, the scope of isotope studies expands into new disciplines and applications. To keep pace with the innovations and to reap maximum benefit for all, it is necessary for us to continue to collaborate and to educate scientists across Europe in this exciting and enlightening branch of science. It is with this in mind that we are pleased to announce the return of JESIUM in 2007 in France; for the latest information, see the JESIUM website. To view all conference abstracts quoted, see http://chemsrv0.pph.univie.ac.at/jesium/.

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