scholarly journals Biogeochemical and Molecular Signatures of Anaerobic Methane Oxidation in a Marine Sediment

2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 1646-1656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trine R. Thomsen ◽  
Kai Finster ◽  
Niels B. Ramsing
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Methane Oxidation ◽  
Marine Sediment ◽  
Anaerobic Methane Oxidation ◽  
Molecular Signatures ◽  
Gene Sequences ◽  
Sulfate Reducing ◽  
Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Eel River Basin

ABSTRACT Anaerobic methane oxidation was investigated in 6-m-long cores of marine sediment from Aarhus Bay, Denmark. Measured concentration profiles for methane and sulfate, as well as in situ rates determined with isotope tracers, indicated that there was a narrow zone of anaerobic methane oxidation about 150 cm below the sediment surface. Methane could account for 52% of the electron donor requirement for the peak sulfate reduction rate detected in the sulfate-methane transition zone. Molecular signatures of organisms present in the transition zone were detected by using selective PCR primers for sulfate-reducing bacteria and for Archaea. One primer pair amplified the dissimilatory sulfite reductase (DSR) gene of sulfate-reducing bacteria, whereas another primer (ANME) was designed to amplify archaeal sequences found in a recent study of sediments from the Eel River Basin, as these bacteria have been suggested to be anaerobic methane oxidizers (K. U. Hinrichs, J. M. Hayes, S. P. Sylva, P. G. Brewer, and E. F. DeLong, Nature 398:802–805, 1999). Amplification with the primer pairs produced more amplificate of both target genes with samples from the sulfate-methane transition zone than with samples from the surrounding sediment. Phylogenetic analysis of the DSR gene sequences retrieved from the transition zone revealed that they all belonged to a novel deeply branching lineage of diverse DSR gene sequences not related to any previously described DSR gene sequence. In contrast, DSR gene sequences found in the top sediment were related to environmental sequences from other estuarine sediments and to sequences of members of the generaDesulfonema, Desulfococcus, andDesulfosarcina. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA sequences obtained with the primers targeting the archaeal group of possible anaerobic methane oxidizers revealed two clusters of ANME sequences, both of which were affiliated with sequences from the Eel River Basin.

scholarly journals Biomarker Evidence for Widespread Anaerobic Methane Oxidation in Mediterranean Sediments by a Consortium of Methanogenic Archaea and Bacteria

2000 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 1126-1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard D. Pancost ◽  
Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté ◽  
Saskia de Lint ◽  
Marc J. E. C. van der Maarel ◽  
Jan C. Gottschal
Keyword(s):  
Methane Oxidation ◽  
Heterotrophic Bacteria ◽  
Methanogenic Archaea ◽  
Anaerobic Methane Oxidation ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Mud Volcanoes ◽  
Terminal Electron Acceptor ◽  
Sulfate Reducing ◽  
Microbiological Process ◽  
Reducing Bacteria

ABSTRACT Although abundant geochemical data indicate that anaerobic methane oxidation occurs in marine sediments, the linkage to specific microorganisms remains unclear. In order to examine processes of methane consumption and oxidation, sediment samples from mud volcanoes at two distinct sites on the Mediterranean Ridge were collected via the submersible Nautile. Geochemical data strongly indicate that methane is oxidized under anaerobic conditions, and compound-specific carbon isotope analyses indicate that this reaction is facilitated by a consortium of archaea and bacteria. Specifically, these methane-rich sediments contain high abundances of methanogen-specific biomarkers that are significantly depleted in13C (δ13C values are as low as −95‰). Biomarkers inferred to derive from sulfate-reducing bacteria and other heterotrophic bacteria are similarly depleted. Consistent with previous work, such depletion can be explained by consumption of13C-depleted methane by methanogens operating in reverse and as part a consortium of organisms in which sulfate serves as the terminal electron acceptor. Moreover, our results indicate that this process is widespread in Mediterranean mud volcanoes and in some localized settings is the predominant microbiological process.

scholarly journals Growth of Anaerobic Methane-Oxidizing Archaea and Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria in a High-Pressure Membrane Capsule Bioreactor

2014 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 1286-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peer H. A. Timmers ◽  
Jarno Gieteling ◽  
H. C. Aura Widjaja-Greefkes ◽  
Caroline M. Plugge ◽  
Alfons J. M. Stams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Partial Pressure ◽  
Methane Oxidation ◽  
Ambient Pressure ◽  
Sulfate Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Sulfide Concentration ◽  
Methane Pressure ◽  
Sulfate Reducing ◽  
Oxidation Rates ◽  
Reducing Bacteria

ABSTRACTCommunities of anaerobic methane-oxidizing archaea (ANME) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) grow slowly, which limits the ability to perform physiological studies. High methane partial pressure was previously successfully applied to stimulate growth, but it is not clear how different ANME subtypes and associated SRB are affected by it. Here, we report on the growth of ANME-SRB in a membrane capsule bioreactor inoculated with Eckernförde Bay sediment that combines high-pressure incubation (10.1 MPa methane) and thorough mixing (100 rpm) with complete cell retention by a 0.2-μm-pore-size membrane. The results were compared to previously obtained data from an ambient-pressure (0.101 MPa methane) bioreactor inoculated with the same sediment. The rates of oxidation of labeled methane were not higher at 10.1 MPa, likely because measurements were done at ambient pressure. The subtype ANME-2a/b was abundant in both reactors, but subtype ANME-2c was enriched only at 10.1 MPa. SRB at 10.1 MPa mainly belonged to the SEEP-SRB2 and Eel-1 groups and theDesulfuromonadalesand not to the typically found SEEP-SRB1 group. The increase of ANME-2a/b occurred in parallel with the increase of SEEP-SRB2, which was previously found to be associated only with ANME-2c. Our results imply that the syntrophic association is flexible and that methane pressure and sulfide concentration influence the growth of different ANME-SRB consortia. We also studied the effect of elevated methane pressure on methane production and oxidation by a mixture of methanogenic and sulfate-reducing sludge. Here, methane oxidation rates decreased and were not coupled to sulfide production, indicating trace methane oxidation during net methanogenesis and not anaerobic methane oxidation, even at a high methane partial pressure.

scholarly journals Thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacteria in cold marine sediment

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai Faurschou Isaksen ◽  
Friedhelm Bak ◽  
Bo Barker Jørgensen
Keyword(s):  
Marine Sediment ◽  
Sulfate Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Sulfate Reducing ◽  
Reducing Bacteria

scholarly journals Growth and Methane Oxidation Rates of Anaerobic Methanotrophic Archaea in a Continuous-Flow Bioreactor

2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 5472-5482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter R. Girguis ◽  
Victoria J. Orphan ◽  
Steven J. Hallam ◽  
Edward F. DeLong
Keyword(s):  
Methane Oxidation ◽  
Continuous Flow ◽  
Molecular Techniques ◽  
Anaerobic Methane Oxidation ◽  
Cold Seep ◽  
Microbial Consortia ◽  
Sulfate Reducing ◽  
Oxidation Rates ◽  
In Situ Conditions ◽  
Pure Cultures

ABSTRACT Anaerobic methanotrophic archaea have recently been identified in anoxic marine sediments, but have not yet been recovered in pure culture. Physiological studies on freshly collected samples containing archaea and their sulfate-reducing syntrophic partners have been conducted, but sample availability and viability can limit the scope of these experiments. To better study microbial anaerobic methane oxidation, we developed a novel continuous-flow anaerobic methane incubation system (AMIS) that simulates the majority of in situ conditions and supports the metabolism and growth of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea. We incubated sediments collected from within and outside a methane cold seep in Monterey Canyon, Calif., for 24 weeks on the AMIS system. Anaerobic methane oxidation was measured in all sediments after incubation on AMIS, and quantitative molecular techniques verified the increases in methane-oxidizing archaeal populations in both seep and nonseep sediments. Our results demonstrate that the AMIS system stimulated the maintenance and growth of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea, and possibly their syntrophic, sulfate-reducing partners. Our data demonstrate the utility of combining physiological and molecular techniques to quantify the growth and metabolic activity of anaerobic microbial consortia. Further experiments with the AMIS system should provide a better understanding of the biological mechanisms of methane oxidation in anoxic marine environments. The AMIS may also enable the enrichment, purification, and isolation of methanotrophic archaea as pure cultures or defined syntrophic consortia.

Response of sulfate-reducing bacteria to an artificial oil-spill in a coastal marine sediment

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1488-1499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Suárez-Suárez ◽  
Arantxa López-López ◽  
Antonio Tovar-Sánchez ◽  
Pablo Yarza ◽  
Alejandro Orfila ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Marine Sediment ◽  
Sulfate Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Sulfate Reducing ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Coastal Marine Sediment ◽  
Reducing Bacteria

scholarly journals Molecular Diversity of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria from Two Different Continental Margin Habitats

2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 6073-6081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueduan Liu ◽  
Christopher E. Bagwell ◽  
Liyou Wu ◽  
Allan H. Devol ◽  
Jizhong Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Rflp Analysis ◽  
Sulfate Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Gene Sequences ◽  
Sulfate Reducing ◽  
Shelf Slope ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Tightly Coupled ◽  
Natural Carbon ◽  
Reducing Bacteria

ABSTRACT This study examined the natural diversity and distributions of sulfate-reducing bacteria along a natural carbon gradient extending down the shelf-slope transition zone of the eastern Pacific continental margin. Dissimilatory (bi)sulfite reductase gene sequences (dsrAB) were PCR amplified and cloned from five different sampling sites, each at a discrete depth, from two different margin systems, one off the Pacific coast of Mexico and another off the coast of Washington State. A total of 1,762 clones were recovered and evaluated by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The majority of the gene sequences recovered showed site and depth restricted distributions; however, a limited number of gene sequences were widely distributed within and between the margin systems. Cluster analysis identified 175 unique RFLP patterns, and nucleotide sequences were determined for corresponding clones. Several different continental margin DsrA sequences clustered with those from formally characterized taxa belonging to the delta subdivision of the class Proteobacteria (Desulfobulbus propionicus, Desulfosarcina variabilis) and the Bacillus-Clostridium (Desulfotomaculum putei) divisions, although the majority of the recovered sequences were phylogenetically divergent relative to all of the other DsrA sequences available for comparison. This study revealed extensive new genetic diversity among sulfate-reducing bacteria in continental margin sedimentary habitats, which appears to be tightly coupled to slope depth, specifically carbon bioavailability.

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