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Title: Methanotrophy across a natural permafrost thaw environment

Journal Article · · The ISME Journal
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia)
  2. Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY (United States)
  3. Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States)
  4. Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
  5. Stockholm Univ., Stockholm (Sweden)
  6. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
  7. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)

The fate of carbon sequestered in permafrost is a key concern for future global warming as this large carbon stock is rapidly becoming a net methane source due to widespread thaw. Methane release from permafrost is moderated by methanotrophs, which oxidise 20-60% of this methane before emission to the atmosphere. Despite the importance of methanotrophs to carbon cycling, these microorganisms are under-characterised and have not been studied across a natural permafrost thaw gradient. Here, we examine methanotroph communities from the active layer of a permafrost thaw gradient in Stordalen Mire (Abisko, Sweden) spanning three years, analysing 188 metagenomes and 24 metatranscriptomes paired with in situ biogeochemical data. Methanotroph community composition and activity varied significantly as thaw progressed from intact permafrost palsa, to partially-thawed bog and fully-thawed fen. Thirteen methanotroph population genomes were recovered, including two novel genomes belonging to the uncultivated upland soil cluster alpha (USCα) group and a novel potentially methanotrophic Hyphomicrobiaceae. Combined analysis of porewater δ13C-CH4 isotopes and methanotroph abundances showed methane oxidation was greatest below the oxic-anoxic interface in the bog. Here, these results detail the direct effect of thaw on autochthonous methanotroph communities, and their consequent changes in population structure, activity, and methane moderation potential.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia). Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0016440
OSTI ID:
1481728
Journal Information:
The ISME Journal, Vol. 12, Issue 10; Related Information: Raw DNA and RNA sequencing data:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA386568; ISSN 1751-7362
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 80 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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