Microbial methanogenesis in the sulfate-reducing zone of sediments in the Eckernförde Bay, SW Baltic Sea

Maltby, Johanna; Steinle, Lea; Löscher, Carolin R.; Bange, Hermann W.; Fischer, Martin; Schmidt, Mark; Treude, Tina

doi:10.5194/bg-15-137-2018

Cited by 56 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis was also detected at ROV2 and ROV3, the higher turnover of methylated compounds as well as the dominance of methylotrophic methanogens ( see below) suggested the methylotrophic pathway could be important for the concurrent methanogenesis with SR in the sulfate‐reducing sediments. Those results were in aggreement with previous studies, which experiemntally demonstrated that methane production in sulfate‐rich sediment could be driven by the fermentation of methylated compounds (Maltby et al ; Xiao et al ; Zhuang et al ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Biogeochemistry, microbial activity, and diversity in surface and subsurface deep‐sea sediments of South China Sea

Zhuang

Liu

Liang

et al. 2019

Limnology & Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Deep‐sea environments are the largest ecosystem of the global biosphere and constitute a crucial role in global biogeochemical cycles. We integrated biogeochemical and molecular ecological approaches to investigate microbial activity and diversity, with the goal of elucidating pathways and regulations of methane cycling and low molecular weight (LMW) compounds metabolism in different deep‐sea sediments of the South China Sea. We found that methanogenesis, anaerobic oxidation of methane, and sulfate reduction occurred concurrently with low rates in surface sediments of the Haima area (~ 50 cm push cores) and in subsurface sediments of the Shenhu area (~ 8 m piston core). In the presence of sulfate, methanogenesis was fueled by methylotrophic substrates, in agreement with thermodynamic calculations as well as the detection of the methylotrophic methanogenic genus Methanococcoides. Higher oxidation rates of LMW compounds than methanogenesis rates, suggested acetate, and to a lesser extent, methanol and methylamine, were predominantly utilized as an energy source by nonmethanogenic microorganisms (e.g., sulfate‐reducing bacteria). Diverse methanotrophic archaea (e.g., ANME‐1a/b and ANME‐2a/b) and sulfate‐reducing bacteria (e.g., Desulfarculaceae and Desulfobacteraceae) were observed and the abundance of mcrA and dsrA genes varied over depth and between sites. Dominant archaeal groups, such as Bathyarchaeota, Thermoplasmatale, Woesearchaeota, Lokiarchaeota, were consistently detected at both areas. Multivariate statistical analysis demonstrated sulfate was the most relevant environmental variable that correlated with the archaeal community composition. These results suggested that the presence of sulfate controlled methane cycling and LMW carbon metabolism pathways, and also affected the composition of the microbial community.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Biogeochemistry, microbial activity, and diversity in surface and subsurface deep‐sea sediments of South China Sea

Zhuang

Liu

Liang

et al. 2019

Limnology & Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…6) indicates a strong overlap of the diagenetic zones in the sediments, as observed previously in the northern Baltic Sea (Sawicka and Brüchert 2017;Jilbert et al 2018). This shows that methanogenesis is occurring in the upper sediments simultaneously with sulfate reduction, potentially due to the use of noncompetitive substrates by the microbial communities (Maltby et al 2018). These high CH 4 concentrations close to the sediment-water interface increase the possibility that ebullition could occur, due to subannual temperature changes or sediment destabilization.…”

Section: Potential Role Of Ebullitionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Legacy Effects of Eutrophication on Modern Methane Dynamics in a Boreal Estuary

Myllykangas

Hietanen

Jilbert

2019

Estuaries and Coasts

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Estuaries are important conduits between terrestrial and marine aquatic systems and function as hot spots in the aquatic methane cycle. Eutrophication and climate change may accelerate methane emissions from estuaries, causing positive feedbacks with global warming. Boreal regions will warm rapidly in the coming decades, increasing the need to understand methane cycling in these systems. In this 3-year study, we investigated seasonal and spatial variability of methane dynamics in a eutrophied boreal estuary, both in the water column and underlying sediments. The estuary and the connected archipelago were consistently a source of methane to the atmosphere, although the origin of emitted methane varied with distance offshore. In the estuary, the river was the primary source of atmospheric methane. In contrast, in the adjacent archipelago, sedimentary methanogenesis fueled by eutrophication over previous decades was the main source. Methane emissions to the atmosphere from the study area were highly variable and dependent on local hydrodynamics and environmental conditions. Despite evidence of highly active methanogenesis in the studied sediments, the vast majority of the upwards diffusive flux of methane was removed before it could escape to the atmosphere, indicating that oxidative filters are presently still functioning regardless of previous eutrophication and ongoing climate change.

show abstract

“…Investigation of the stability and morphology of the cells under various growth conditions illustrated that pressure and substrate concentration could significantly affect the size, shape, and stability of Methanococcus thermolithotrophicus (Bernhardt et al 1988). In some cases, methanogens also respond to environmental changes with versatile metabolic adaptations, such as the utilization of different methanogenic pathways and the employment of unusual metabolic routes (Rother and Metcalf 2004;Mayumi et al 2013). Thus, the physiological and/ or metabolic adaptation strategies facilitated the survival and activity of methanogens under different conditions.…”

Section: Zhuang Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, increasing evidence suggests microbial methanogenesis could be important in marine surface sediments, in some cases influencing benthic methane budgets (Chronopoulou et al ; Xiao et al ; Maltby et al ; Zhuang et al ). Yet, the factors that control the methane production in these sulfate‐containing surface sediments remain poorly understood.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of pressure, methane concentration, sulfate reduction activity, and temperature on methane production in surface sediments of the Gulf of Mexico

Zhuang

Montgomery

Sibert

et al. 2018

Limnology & Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microbial methanogenesis is a known source of methane in marine environment, but the factors affecting the production of methane from different pathways remain largely unconstrained. We investigated the effects of pressure, methane concentration, temperature, and sulfate reduction activity on the conversion of methanogenic substrates to methane using radiotracers in nearshore and offshore surface sediments in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The transformation of bicarbonate to methane increased with methane concentrations under quasi in situ conditions of deep‐sea sediment, potentially reflecting, to some degree, enhancement of the enzymatic back reaction under high‐methane conditions. In coastal sediments, a positive effect of both increased methane concentration and inhibition of sulfate reduction by molybdate on 14CH4 accumulation suggests that anaerobic oxidation of methane and methanogenesis occur concurrently. In contrast, methane production from methanol was suppressed by increased methane concentration likely due to the reduced energy yield of methanogenesis at elevated methane concentrations. Temperature could limit hydrogenotrophic and acetoclastic methanogenesis under in situ conditions, as higher rates were observed at 40°C in nearshore sediments. Inhibitor experiments with 2‐bromoethanesulfonate and molybdate indicated that sulfate‐reducing bacteria preferentially utilized acetate, as well as H2. Methanol was a noncompetitive substrate for methanogens in the deep‐sea sediments but was competitively cycled in coastal sediments. An authentic noncompetitive substrate, methylamine, was channeled predominantly to methane production under all conditions tested. The different response of methanogenic activity to substrate availability, metabolic competition, temperature, and pressure between sites suggest variable environmental controls on the methane production in coastal vs. deep‐sea surface sediments.

show abstract

Microbial methanogenesis in the sulfate-reducing zone of sediments in the Eckernförde Bay, SW Baltic Sea

Cited by 56 publications

References 62 publications

Biogeochemistry, microbial activity, and diversity in surface and subsurface deep‐sea sediments of South China Sea

Biogeochemistry, microbial activity, and diversity in surface and subsurface deep‐sea sediments of South China Sea

Legacy Effects of Eutrophication on Modern Methane Dynamics in a Boreal Estuary

Effects of pressure, methane concentration, sulfate reduction activity, and temperature on methane production in surface sediments of the Gulf of Mexico

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About