An Unexpectedly Broad Thermal and Salinity-Tolerant Estuarine Methanogen Community
Moderately thermophilic (T<sub>max</sub>, ~55 °C) methanogens are identified after extended enrichments from temperate, tropical and low-temperature environments. However, thermophilic methanogens with higher growth temperatures (T<sub>opt</sub> ≥ 60 °C) are only reported fro...
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doaj-11c114f1ca4b4ae292dfd40a08f5e37e2020-11-25T03:22:48ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072020-09-0181467146710.3390/microorganisms8101467An Unexpectedly Broad Thermal and Salinity-Tolerant Estuarine Methanogen CommunityLynsay I. Blake0Angela Sherry1Obioma K. Mejeha2Peter Leary3Henry Coombs4Wendy Stone5Ian M. Head6Neil D. Gray7School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UKSchool of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UKSchool of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UKSchool of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UKSchool of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UKWater Institute and Department of Microbiology, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch 7602, South AfricaSchool of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UKSchool of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UKModerately thermophilic (T<sub>max</sub>, ~55 °C) methanogens are identified after extended enrichments from temperate, tropical and low-temperature environments. However, thermophilic methanogens with higher growth temperatures (T<sub>opt</sub> ≥ 60 °C) are only reported from high-temperature environments. A microcosm-based approach was used to measure the rate of methane production and methanogen community structure over a range of temperatures and salinities in sediment from a temperate estuary. We report short-term incubations (<48 h) revealing methanogens with optimal activity reaching 70 °C in a temperate estuary sediment (in situ temperature 4–5 °C). While 30 °C enrichments amended with acetate, H<sub>2</sub> or methanol selected for corresponding mesophilic trophic groups, at 60 °C, only hydrogenotrophs (genus <i>Methanothermobacter</i>) were observed. Since these methanogens are not known to be active under in situ temperatures, we conclude constant dispersal from high temperature habitats. The likely provenance of the thermophilic methanogens was studied by enrichments covering a range of temperatures and salinities. These enrichments indicated that the estuarine sediment hosted methanogens encompassing the global activity envelope of most cultured species. We suggest that estuaries are fascinating sink and source environments for microbial function study.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/10/1467methanogenesismethanogen community functionmethanogen community structure |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Lynsay I. Blake Angela Sherry Obioma K. Mejeha Peter Leary Henry Coombs Wendy Stone Ian M. Head Neil D. Gray |
spellingShingle |
Lynsay I. Blake Angela Sherry Obioma K. Mejeha Peter Leary Henry Coombs Wendy Stone Ian M. Head Neil D. Gray An Unexpectedly Broad Thermal and Salinity-Tolerant Estuarine Methanogen Community Microorganisms methanogenesis methanogen community function methanogen community structure |
author_facet |
Lynsay I. Blake Angela Sherry Obioma K. Mejeha Peter Leary Henry Coombs Wendy Stone Ian M. Head Neil D. Gray |
author_sort |
Lynsay I. Blake |
title |
An Unexpectedly Broad Thermal and Salinity-Tolerant Estuarine Methanogen Community |
title_short |
An Unexpectedly Broad Thermal and Salinity-Tolerant Estuarine Methanogen Community |
title_full |
An Unexpectedly Broad Thermal and Salinity-Tolerant Estuarine Methanogen Community |
title_fullStr |
An Unexpectedly Broad Thermal and Salinity-Tolerant Estuarine Methanogen Community |
title_full_unstemmed |
An Unexpectedly Broad Thermal and Salinity-Tolerant Estuarine Methanogen Community |
title_sort |
unexpectedly broad thermal and salinity-tolerant estuarine methanogen community |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Microorganisms |
issn |
2076-2607 |
publishDate |
2020-09-01 |
description |
Moderately thermophilic (T<sub>max</sub>, ~55 °C) methanogens are identified after extended enrichments from temperate, tropical and low-temperature environments. However, thermophilic methanogens with higher growth temperatures (T<sub>opt</sub> ≥ 60 °C) are only reported from high-temperature environments. A microcosm-based approach was used to measure the rate of methane production and methanogen community structure over a range of temperatures and salinities in sediment from a temperate estuary. We report short-term incubations (<48 h) revealing methanogens with optimal activity reaching 70 °C in a temperate estuary sediment (in situ temperature 4–5 °C). While 30 °C enrichments amended with acetate, H<sub>2</sub> or methanol selected for corresponding mesophilic trophic groups, at 60 °C, only hydrogenotrophs (genus <i>Methanothermobacter</i>) were observed. Since these methanogens are not known to be active under in situ temperatures, we conclude constant dispersal from high temperature habitats. The likely provenance of the thermophilic methanogens was studied by enrichments covering a range of temperatures and salinities. These enrichments indicated that the estuarine sediment hosted methanogens encompassing the global activity envelope of most cultured species. We suggest that estuaries are fascinating sink and source environments for microbial function study. |
topic |
methanogenesis methanogen community function methanogen community structure |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/10/1467 |
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