1. Community Composition and Ultrastructure of a Nitrate-Dependent Anaerobic Methane-Oxidizing Enrichment Culture.
- Author
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Gambelli, Lavinia, Guerrero-Cruz, Simon, Mesman, Rob J., Cremers, Geert, Jetten, Mike S. M., den Camp, Huub J. M. Op, Kartal, Boran, Lueke, Claudia, and van Niftrik, Laura
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METHANE-oxidizing microorganisms , *GREENHOUSE gases & the environment , *ULTRASTRUCTURE (Biology) , *NITRATES , *DENITRIFICATION , *BIOMASS - Abstract
Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas and can be oxidized aerobically or anaerobically through microbe-mediated processes, thus decreasing methane emissions in the atmosphere. Using a complementary array of methods, including phylogenetic analysis, physiological experiments, and light and electron microscopy techniques (including electron tomography), we investigated the community composition and ultrastructure of a continuous bioreactor enrichment culture, in which anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) was coupled to nitrate reduction. A membrane bioreactor was seeded with AOM biomass and continuously fed with excess methane. After 150 days, the bioreactor reached a daily consumption of 10 mmol nitrate · liter-1 · day-1. The biomass consisted of aggregates that were dominated by nitratedependent anaerobic methane-oxidizing "Candidatus Methanoperedens"-like archaea (40%) and nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane-oxidizing "Candidatus Methylomirabilis"-like bacteria (50%). The "Ca. Methanoperedens" spp. were identified by fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunogold localization of the methyl-coenzyme M reductase (Mcr) enzyme, which was located in the cytoplasm. The "Ca. Methanoperedens" sp. aggregates consisted of slightly irregular coccoid cells (-1.5-μm diameter) which produced extruding tubular structures and putative cell-to-cell contacts among each other. "Ca. Methylomirabilis" sp. bacteria exhibited the polygonal cell shape typical of this genus. In AOM archaea and bacteria, cytochrome c proteins were localized in the cytoplasm and periplasm, respectively, by cytochrome staining. Our results indicate that AOM bacteria and archaea might work closely together in the process of anaerobic methane oxidation, as the bacteria depend on the archaea for nitrite. Future studies will be aimed at elucidating the function of the cell-to-cell interactions in nitrate-dependent AOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
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