Open AccessStructure and function of methanotrophic communities in a landfill‐cover soil
Author(s) -
Henneberger Ruth,
Lüke Claudia,
Mosberger Lona,
Schroth Martin H.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01278.x
Subject(s) - biology , cover (algebra) , function (biology) , ecology , evolutionary biology , mechanical engineering , engineering
In landfill‐cover soils, aerobic methane‐oxidizing bacteria ( MOB ) convert CH 4 to CO 2 , mitigating emissions of the greenhouse gas CH 4 to the atmosphere. We investigated overall MOB community structure and assessed spatial differences in MOB diversity, abundance and activity in a S wiss landfill‐cover soil. Molecular cloning, terminal restriction‐fragment length polymorphism ( T ‐ RFLP ) and quantitative PCR of pmoA genes were applied to soil collected from 16 locations at three different depths to study MOB community structure, diversity and abundance; MOB activity was measured in the field using gas push‐pull tests. The MOB community was highly diverse but dominated by Type I a MOB , with novel pmoA sequences present. Type II MOB were detected mainly in deeper soil with lower nutrient and higher CH 4 concentrations. Substantial differences in MOB community structure were observed between one high‐ and one low‐activity location. MOB abundance was highly variable across the site [4.0 × 10 4 to 1.1 × 10 7 (g soil dry weight) –1 ]. Potential CH 4 oxidation rates were high [1.8–58.2 mmol CH 4 (L soil air) –1 day –1 ] but showed significant lateral variation and were positively correlated with mean CH 4 concentrations ( P < 0.01), MOB abundance ( P < 0.05) and MOB diversity (weak correlation, P < 0.17). Our findings indicate that M ethylosarcina and closely related MOB are key players and that MOB abundance and community structure are driving factors in CH 4 oxidation at this landfill.