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Molecular evidence for nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane-oxidising bacteria in the Jiaojiang Estuary of the East Sea (China)

  • Applied genetics and molecular biotechnology
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Abstract

Nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (N-DAMO) is a recently discovered process linking the global carbon and nitrogen cycles. This process was reported to be mediated by “Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera”. To date, M. oxyfera-like bacteria have been detected in a limited number of freshwater habitats, but whether these bacteria occur in estuarine habitats is currently unknown. In this study, the distribution, diversity and abundance of M. oxyfera-like bacteria were studied in the sediment of the Jiaojiang Estuary of the East Sea (China). Both the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and pmoA genes confirmed the occurrence of M. oxyfera-like bacteria in the examined estuary. The recovered 16S rRNA gene sequences showed 91.5–97.2 % identity to the 16S rRNA gene of M. oxyfera, and the recovered pmoA gene sequences showed 85.1–95.4 % identity to the pmoA gene of M. oxyfera. Quantitative PCR further confirmed the occurrence of M. oxyfera-like bacteria in this estuary, with the abundance varying from 5.80 ± 0.28 × 104 to 8.35 ± 0.52 × 107 copies g (dry weight)−1. Correlation analysis indicated that the sediment organic content was the most important factor affecting the distribution of M. oxyfera-like bacterial communities in the examined sediments among the environmental factors investigated. This study demonstrated for the first time the existence of M. oxyfera-like bacteria in an estuarine environment and showed the correlations between the distribution of these bacteria and the estuarine environmental conditions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Natural Science Foundation (No. 51108408 and No. 41276109), the fund of Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry (LMEB201007) and the Shanghai Tongji Gao Tingyao Environmental Science and Technology Development Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Shen Li-dong, Liu Shuai, Xu Xiang-yang, Zheng Ping & Hu Bao-lan

  2. Institute of Life Science, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, China

    Zhu Qun & Cheng Dong-qing

  3. Department of Ecology and Environment, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou, 310012, China

    Du Ping & Zeng Jiang-ning

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  1. Shen Li-dong
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  2. Zhu Qun
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  3. Liu Shuai
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  4. Du Ping
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  5. Zeng Jiang-ning
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  6. Cheng Dong-qing
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  7. Xu Xiang-yang
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  9. Hu Bao-lan
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Correspondence to Hu Bao-lan.

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Li-dong, S., Qun, Z., Shuai, L. et al. Molecular evidence for nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane-oxidising bacteria in the Jiaojiang Estuary of the East Sea (China). Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98, 5029–5038 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-5556-3

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