Microbial mediation of cryptic methane cycle in semiclosed marine water column

Hongxi Zhang; Taoshu Wei; Jiushuang Zhang; Qingmei Li; Liang Fu; Lisheng He; Yong Wang

doi:10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100082

The Innovation Geoscience > 2024 Vol. 2 > No. 3 > 100082

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Microbial mediation of cryptic methane cycle in semiclosed marine water column

1.
Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya 572000, China
2.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
3.
Institute for Ocean Engineering, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
4.
Sansha Track Ocean Coral Reef Conservation Research Institute Co., Ltd, Sansha 573199, China
5.
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Marine Ecology, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China

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Corresponding author: wangyong@sz.tsinghua.edu.cn
Received Date: February 21, 2024

Accepted Date: June 05, 2024

Published Online: June 18, 2024

The Innovation Geoscience 2(3), https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100082 | Cite this article

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PUBLIC SUMMARY
1. Yongle blue hole exhibits remarkable microbial diversity and novel metabolic pathways.
  
  The identification of microbial cleavage of MPn and DMSP as key drivers of methane production.
  
  A new group is probably attributable to ~77% drop of methane concentration in anoxic water.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

The continuous expansion of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) has promoted methane emissions, and the origin and fate of methane in semi enclosed OMZs are poorly understood. In this study, we sampled 21 water layers across a 300-m depth of the Yongle blue hole (YBH) located in the South China Sea for metagenomics and metatranscriptomics work, coupled with data from global anoxic/suboxic water columns. The 16S rDNA reads in the metagenomes indicate high percentages of unclassified prokaryotes (on average 38%) and high microbiome novelty scores in anoxic layers of YBH, which are significantly higher than other semiclosed oxygen minimum zones. Analyses of 318 draft genomes and functional genes indicate that the methane source of YBH probably resulted from microbial cleavage of methylphosphonate (MPn) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). Methane oxidation that prevents methane emission from YBH was probably conducted by a new group of aerobic methanotrophic Planctomycetota, Bacteroidota, and Verrucomicrobiota in suboxic and anoxic environments of YBH, in addition to Methylococcales in oxic layers. The Bacteroidota solely contribute to ~77% of methane decline from the peak at 180 m depth. Our research casts light on the cryptic methane cycle mediated by the novel microbiome that controls the release of greenhouse gases from marine geographic depressions exemplified by YBH, offering valuable insights into mitigating climate change effects in marine environments.

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Zhang H., Wei T., Zhang J., et al., (2024). Microbial mediation of cryptic methane cycle in semiclosed marine water column. The Innovation Geoscience 2(3): 100082. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100082

Zhang H., Wei T., Zhang J., et al., (2024). Microbial mediation of cryptic methane cycle in semiclosed marine water column. The Innovation Geoscience 2(3): 100082. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100082

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Microbial mediation of cryptic methane cycle in semiclosed marine water column

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