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Trophic strategy of diverse methanogens across a river-to-sea gradient

  • Microbial Ecology and Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

Methanogens are an important biogenic source of methane, especially in estuarine waters across a river-to-sea gradient. However, the diversity and trophic strategy of methanogens in this gradient are not clear. In this study, the diversity and trophic strategy of methanogens in sediments across the Yellow River (YR) to the Bohai Sea (BS) gradient were investigated by high-throughput sequencing based on the 16S rRNA gene. The results showed that the diversity of methanogens in sediments varied from multitrophic communities in YR samples to specific methylotrophic communities in BS samples. The methanogenic community in YR samples was dominated by Methanosarcina, while that of BS samples was dominated by methylotrophic Methanococcoides. The distinct methanogens suggested that the methanogenic community of BS sediments did not originate from YR sediment input. High-throughput sequencing of the mcrA gene revealed that active Methanococcoides dominated in the BS enrichment cultures with trimethylamine as the substrate, and methylotrophic Methanolobus dominated in the YR enrichment cultures, as detected to a limited amount in in situ sediment samples. Methanosarcina were also detected in this gradient sample. Furthermore, the same species of Methanosarcina mazei, which was widely distributed, was isolated from the area across a river-to-sea gradient by the culture-dependent method. In summary, our results showed that a distribution of diverse methanogens across a river-to-sea gradient may shed light on adaption strategies and survival mechanisms in methanogens.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Coastal Biology and Biological Resources Utilization, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, 264003, P. R. China

    Bingchen Wang, Fanghua Liu, Shiling Zheng & Qinqin Hao

  2. Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237, P. R. China

    Bingchen Wang & Fanghua Liu

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P. R. China

    Bingchen Wang & Qinqin Hao

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  1. Bingchen Wang
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  2. Fanghua Liu
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  3. Shiling Zheng
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  4. Qinqin Hao
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Correspondence to Fanghua Liu or Shiling Zheng.

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Wang, B., Liu, F., Zheng, S. et al. Trophic strategy of diverse methanogens across a river-to-sea gradient. J Microbiol. 57, 470–478 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-019-8482-3

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