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Liu N, Kivenson V, Peng X, Cui Z, Lankiewicz TS, Gosselin KM, English CJ, Blair EM, O'Malley MA, Valentine DL. Pontiella agarivorans sp. nov., a novel marine anaerobic bacterium capable of degrading macroalgal polysaccharides and fixing nitrogen. Appl Environ Microbiol 2024; 90:e0091423. [PMID: 38265213 PMCID: PMC10880615 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00914-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Marine macroalgae produce abundant and diverse polysaccharides, which contribute substantially to the organic matter exported to the deep ocean. Microbial degradation of these polysaccharides plays an important role in the turnover of macroalgal biomass. Various members of the Planctomycetes-Verrucomicrobia-Chlamydia (PVC) superphylum are degraders of polysaccharides in widespread anoxic environments. In this study, we isolated a novel anaerobic bacterial strain NLcol2T from microbial mats on the surface of marine sediments offshore Santa Barbara, CA, USA. Based on 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene and phylogenomic analyses, strain NLcol2T represents a novel species within the Pontiella genus in the Kiritimatiellota phylum (within the PVC superphylum). Strain NLcol2T is able to utilize various monosaccharides, disaccharides, and macroalgal polysaccharides such as agar and ɩ-carrageenan. A near-complete genome also revealed an extensive metabolic capacity for anaerobic degradation of sulfated polysaccharides, as evidenced by 202 carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and 165 sulfatases. Additionally, its ability of nitrogen fixation was confirmed by nitrogenase activity detected during growth on nitrogen-free medium, and the presence of nitrogenases (nifDKH) encoded in the genome. Based on the physiological and genomic analyses, this strain represents a new species of bacteria that may play an important role in the degradation of macroalgal polysaccharides and with relevance to the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen in marine environments. Strain NLcol2T (= DSM 113125T = MCCC 1K08672T) is proposed to be the type strain of a novel species in the Pontiella genus, and the name Pontiella agarivorans sp. nov. is proposed.IMPORTANCEGrowth and intentional burial of marine macroalgae is being considered as a carbon dioxide reduction strategy but elicits concerns as to the fate and impacts of this macroalgal carbon in the ocean. Diverse heterotrophic microbial communities in the ocean specialize in these complex polymers such as carrageenan and fucoidan, for example, members of the Kiritimatiellota phylum. However, only four type strains within the phylum have been cultivated and characterized to date, and there is limited knowledge about the metabolic capabilities and functional roles of related organisms in the environment. The new isolate strain NLcol2T expands the known substrate range of this phylum and further reveals the ability to fix nitrogen during anaerobic growth on macroalgal polysaccharides, thereby informing the issue of macroalgal carbon disposal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Liu
- Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Veronika Kivenson
- Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Xuefeng Peng
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Zhisong Cui
- Marine Bioresource and Environment Research Center, Key Laboratory of Marine Eco-Environmental Science and Technology, First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources of China, Qingdao, China
| | - Thomas S. Lankiewicz
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Kelsey M. Gosselin
- Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Chance J. English
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Department of Ecology Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Elaina M. Blair
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Michelle A. O'Malley
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Biological Engineering Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - David L. Valentine
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Department of Earth Science, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
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Zemskaya TI, Bukin SV, Lomakina AV, Pavlova ON. Microorganisms in the Sediments of Lake Baikal, the Deepest and Oldest Lake in the World. Microbiology (Reading) 2021. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026261721030140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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Sam Kamaleson A, Gonsalves MJ, Nazareth DR. Interactions of sulfur and methane-oxidizing bacteria in tropical estuarine sediments. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2019; 191:496. [PMID: 31312943 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-019-7616-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The bacterial oxidation of sulfur and methane is central to the biogeochemical processes in sediments such as the tropical mangrove sediments. However, there is a lacuna of information on the seasonal interactions including the influence of monsoons which is a major driver of seasonal change, on sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) and methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB), their activity and the environmental variables. To understand these interactions, the analysis was carried out on sediment samples that were sampled monthly for a year from Chorao mangrove, Goa, southwest coast of India. SOB (3.8×105CFU g-1) and MOB (0.90×105CFU g-1) had maximum average abundance in the surface sediments in the post-monsoon and monsoon season, respectively. The mean sulfur-oxidation activity (SOA) of 2.63 mM day-1 and methane-oxidation activity (MOA) of 110.94 mM day-1 were highest in surface sediments during the post-monsoon season. Generally, the activity of SOB and MOB in surface sediments of post-monsoon was 2.2 times(×) and 2.8× respectively higher than that in the monsoon season. Among the environmental parameters analyzed, protein and sulfide concentrations significantly (p < 0.001) influenced SOA and MOA, respectively. There was a significant difference in SOA (p < 0.003) and MOA (p < 0.036) in surface sediments between the monsoon and the post-monsoon season. During the monsoon season, when the system is a sink of terrestrial/anthropogenic material, the interrelationship of SOB with MOA (r = 0.617, p < 0.001) and SOB with SOA (r = 0.489, p < 0.05) aids in maintaining the homeostasis of the system.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sam Kamaleson
- CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, 403004, India
- Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
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SIMS analyses of the oldest known assemblage of microfossils document their taxon-correlated carbon isotope compositions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 115:53-58. [PMID: 29255053 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1718063115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Analyses by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) of 11 specimens of five taxa of prokaryotic filamentous kerogenous cellular microfossils permineralized in a petrographic thin section of the ∼3,465 Ma Apex chert of northwestern Western Australia, prepared from the same rock sample from which this earliest known assemblage of cellular fossils was described more than two decades ago, show their δ13C compositions to vary systematically taxon to taxon from -31‰ to -39‰. These morphospecies-correlated carbon isotope compositions confirm the biogenicity of the Apex fossils and validate their morphology-based taxonomic assignments. Perhaps most significantly, the δ13C values of each of the five taxa are lower than those of bulk samples of Apex kerogen (-27‰), those of SIMS-measured fossil-associated dispersed particulate kerogen (-27.6‰), and those typical of modern prokaryotic phototrophs (-25 ± 10‰). The SIMS data for the two highest δ13C Apex taxa are consistent with those of extant phototrophic bacteria; those for a somewhat lower δ13C taxon, with nonbacterial methane-producing Archaea; and those for the two lowest δ13C taxa, with methane-metabolizing γ-proteobacteria. Although the existence of both methanogens and methanotrophs has been inferred from bulk analyses of the carbon isotopic compositions of pre-2,500 Ma kerogens, these in situ SIMS analyses of individual microfossils present data interpretable as evidencing the cellular preservation of such microorganisms and are consistent with the near-basal position of the Archaea in rRNA phylogenies.
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Valentine DL, Fisher GB, Pizarro O, Kaiser CL, Yoerger D, Breier JA, Tarn J. Autonomous Marine Robotic Technology Reveals an Expansive Benthic Bacterial Community Relevant to Regional Nitrogen Biogeochemistry. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2016; 50:11057-11065. [PMID: 27706934 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b03584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Benthic accumulations of filamentous, mat-forming bacteria occur throughout the oceans where bisulfide mingles with oxygen or nitrate, providing key but poorly quantified linkages between elemental cycles of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur. Here we used the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry to conduct a contiguous, 12.5 km photoimaging survey of sea-floor colonies of filamentous bacteria between 80 and 579 m water depth, spanning the continental shelf to the deep suboxic waters of the Santa Barbara Basin (SBB). The survey provided >31 000 images and revealed contiguous, white-colored bacterial colonization coating > ∼80% of the ocean floor and spanning over 1.6 km, between 487 and 523 m water depth. Based on their localization within the stratified waters of the SBB we hypothesize a dynamic and annular biogeochemical zonation by which the bacteria capitalize on periodic flushing events to accumulate and utilize nitrate. Oceanographic time series data bracket the imaging survey and indicate rapid and contemporaneous nitrate loss, while autonomous capture of microbial communities from the benthic boundary layer concurrent with imaging provides possible identities for the responsible bacteria. Based on these observations we explore the ecological context of such mats and their possible importance in the nitrogen cycle of the SBB.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - G Burch Fisher
- Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas , Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Oscar Pizarro
- Australian Center for Field Robotics, University of Sydney , Sydney, Australia
| | - Carl L Kaiser
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution , Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Dana Yoerger
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution , Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - John A Breier
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution , Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Jonathan Tarn
- Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science, University of California , Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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Draft Genome Sequences of Gammaproteobacterial Methanotrophs Isolated from Marine Ecosystems. GENOME ANNOUNCEMENTS 2016; 4:4/1/e01629-15. [PMID: 26798114 PMCID: PMC4722281 DOI: 10.1128/genomea.01629-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The genome sequences of Methylobacter marinus A45, Methylobacter sp. strain BBA5.1, and Methylomarinum vadi IT-4 were obtained. These aerobic methanotrophs are typical members of coastal and hydrothermal vent marine ecosystems.
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Bryson SJ, Thurber AR, Correa AMS, Orphan VJ, Vega Thurber R. A novel sister clade to the enterobacteria microviruses (family Microviridae) identified in methane seep sediments. Environ Microbiol 2015; 17:3708-21. [PMID: 25640518 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2014] [Revised: 12/15/2014] [Accepted: 12/15/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Methane seep microbial communities perform a key ecosystem service by consuming the greenhouse gas methane prior to its release into the hydrosphere, minimizing the impact of marine methane sources on our climate. Although previous studies have examined the ecology and biochemistry of these communities, none has examined viral assemblages associated with these habitats. We employed virus particle purification, genome amplification, pyrosequencing and gene/genome reconstruction and annotation on two metagenomic libraries, one prepared for ssDNA and the other for all DNA, to identify the viral community in a methane seep. Similarity analysis of these libraries (raw and assembled) revealed a community dominated by phages, with a significant proportion of similarities to the Microviridae family of ssDNA phages. We define these viruses as the Eel River Basin Microviridae (ERBM). Assembly and comparison of 21 ERBM closed circular genomes identified five as members of a novel sister clade to the Microvirus genus of Enterobacteria phages. Comparisons among other metagenomes and these Microviridae major-capsid sequences indicated that this clade of phages is currently unique to the Eel River Basin sediments. Given this ERBM clade's relationship to the Microviridae genus Microvirus, we define this sister clade as the candidate genus Pequeñovirus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Joseph Bryson
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, 454 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
| | - Andrew R Thurber
- College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, 454 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
| | - Adrienne M S Correa
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, 454 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005, USA
| | - Victoria J Orphan
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Rebecca Vega Thurber
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, 454 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
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Sauter LM, Latypova E, Smalley NE, Lidstrom ME, Hallam S, Kalyuzhnaya MG. Methanotrophic communities of Saanich Inlet: A microcosm perspective. Syst Appl Microbiol 2012; 35:198-203. [DOI: 10.1016/j.syapm.2011.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2011] [Revised: 09/30/2011] [Accepted: 10/03/2011] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Bernardino AF, Levin LA, Thurber AR, Smith CR. Comparative composition, diversity and trophic ecology of sediment macrofauna at vents, seeps and organic falls. PLoS One 2012; 7:e33515. [PMID: 22496753 PMCID: PMC3319539 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2011] [Accepted: 02/10/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Sediments associated with hydrothermal venting, methane seepage and large organic falls such as whale, wood and plant detritus create deep-sea networks of soft-sediment habitats fueled, at least in part, by the oxidation of reduced chemicals. Biological studies at deep-sea vents, seeps and organic falls have looked at macrofaunal taxa, but there has yet to be a systematic comparison of the community-level attributes of sediment macrobenthos in various reducing ecosystems. Here we review key similarities and differences in the sediment-dwelling assemblages of each system with the goals of (1) generating a predictive framework for the exploration and study of newly identified reducing habitats, and (2) identifying taxa and communities that overlap across ecosystems. We show that deep-sea seep, vent and organic-fall sediments are highly heterogeneous. They sustain different geochemical and microbial processes that are reflected in a complex mosaic of habitats inhabited by a mixture of specialist (heterotrophic and symbiont-associated) and background fauna. Community-level comparisons reveal that vent, seep and organic-fall macrofauna are very distinct in terms of composition at the family level, although they share many dominant taxa among these highly sulphidic habitats. Stress gradients are good predictors of macrofaunal diversity at some sites, but habitat heterogeneity and facilitation often modify community structure. The biogeochemical differences across ecosystems and within habitats result in wide differences in organic utilization (i.e., food sources) and in the prevalence of chemosynthesis-derived nutrition. In the Pacific, vents, seeps and organic-falls exhibit distinct macrofaunal assemblages at broad-scales contributing to ß diversity. This has important implications for the conservation of reducing ecosystems, which face growing threats from human activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelo F Bernardino
- Departamento de Oceanografia e Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Goiabeiras, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
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Levin LA, Orphan VJ, Rouse GW, Rathburn AE, Ussler W, Cook GS, Goffredi SK, Perez EM, Waren A, Grupe BM, Chadwick G, Strickrott B. A hydrothermal seep on the Costa Rica margin: middle ground in a continuum of reducing ecosystems. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:2580-8. [PMID: 22398162 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.0205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Upon their initial discovery, hydrothermal vents and methane seeps were considered to be related but distinct ecosystems, with different distributions, geomorphology, temperatures, geochemical properties and mostly different species. However, subsequently discovered vents and seep systems have blurred this distinction. Here, we report on a composite, hydrothermal seep ecosystem at a subducting seamount on the convergent Costa Rica margin that represents an intermediate between vent and seep ecosystems. Diffuse flow of shimmering, warm fluids with high methane concentrations supports a mixture of microbes, animal species, assemblages and trophic pathways with vent and seep affinities. Their coexistence reinforces the continuity of reducing environments and exemplifies a setting conducive to interactive evolution of vent and seep biota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa A Levin
- Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA 92093-0218, USA.
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Håvelsrud OE, Haverkamp THA, Kristensen T, Jakobsen KS, Rike AG. A metagenomic study of methanotrophic microorganisms in Coal Oil Point seep sediments. BMC Microbiol 2011; 11:221. [PMID: 21970369 PMCID: PMC3197505 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2180-11-221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2011] [Accepted: 10/04/2011] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Methane oxidizing prokaryotes in marine sediments are believed to function as a methane filter reducing the oceanic contribution to the global methane emission. In the anoxic parts of the sediments, oxidation of methane is accomplished by anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) living in syntrophy with sulphate reducing bacteria. This anaerobic oxidation of methane is assumed to be a coupling of reversed methanogenesis and dissimilatory sulphate reduction. Where oxygen is available aerobic methanotrophs take part in methane oxidation. In this study, we used metagenomics to characterize the taxonomic and metabolic potential for methane oxidation at the Tonya seep in the Coal Oil Point area, California. Two metagenomes from different sediment depth horizons (0-4 cm and 10-15 cm below sea floor) were sequenced by 454 technology. The metagenomes were analysed to characterize the distribution of aerobic and anaerobic methanotrophic taxa at the two sediment depths. To gain insight into the metabolic potential the metagenomes were searched for marker genes associated with methane oxidation. RESULTS Blast searches followed by taxonomic binning in MEGAN revealed aerobic methanotrophs of the genus Methylococcus to be overrepresented in the 0-4 cm metagenome compared to the 10-15 cm metagenome. In the 10-15 cm metagenome, ANME of the ANME-1 clade, were identified as the most abundant methanotrophic taxon with 8.6% of the reads. Searches for particulate methane monooxygenase (pmoA) and methyl-coenzyme M reductase (mcrA), marker genes for aerobic and anaerobic oxidation of methane respectively, identified pmoA in the 0-4 cm metagenome as Methylococcaceae related. The mcrA reads from the 10-15 cm horizon were all classified as originating from the ANME-1 clade. CONCLUSIONS Most of the taxa detected were present in both metagenomes and differences in community structure and corresponding metabolic potential between the two samples were mainly due to abundance differences. The results suggests that the Tonya Seep sediment is a robust methane filter, where taxa presently dominating this process could be replaced by less abundant methanotrophic taxa in case of changed environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Othilde Elise Håvelsrud
- Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Sognsveien 72, P,O, Box 3930 Ullevål Stadion, N-0806 Oslo, Norway
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Abstract
Our knowledge of physical, chemical, geological and biological processes affecting methane in the ocean and in underlying sediments is expanding at a rapid pace. On first inspection, marine methane biogeochemistry appears simple: Methane distribution in sediment is set by the deposition pattern of organic material, and the balance of sources and sinks keeps its concentration low in most waters. However, recent research reveals that methane is affected by complex biogeochemical processes whose interactions are understood only at a superficial level. Such processes span the deep-subsurface, near subsurface, and ocean waters, and relate primarily to the production, consumption, and transport of methane. The purpose of this synthesis is to examine select processes within the framework of methane biogeochemistry, to formulate hypotheses on how they might operate and interact with one another, and to consider their controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- David L Valentine
- Department of Earth Science and Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
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Abstract
Two freshwater strains of the gammaproteobacterium Beggiatoa alba, B18LD and OH75-2a, are able to use methanol as a sole carbon and energy source under microoxic conditions. Genes encoding a methanol dehydrogenase large-subunit homolog and four enzymes of the tetrahydromethanopterin-dependent C(1) oxidation pathway were identified in B18LD. No evidence of methanotrophy was detected.
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