Abundance of planktonic methane-oxidizing bacteria in a subtropical reservoir

Abstract

Methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) are regarded as key players in aquatic ecosystems, which can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. Among phylogenetically diverse MOB, those of the phylum Proteobacteria have been regarded as major methane oxidizers in environments, and they are classified into two major groups, type I and type II. Another group of MOB, ‘Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera’ and its close relatives have also been detected in various environments, but their predominance over proteobacterial MOB has hardly ever been reported. Feitsui Reservoir (FTR) is a subtropical reservoir situated in Taiwan, where the predominance of ‘M. oxyfera’-like phylotypes in a planktonic MOB community was first reported. In this study, planktonic MOB of three types (‘M. oxyfera’-like, type I and type II) were quantified with catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization, to reveal seasonal variation and vertical distribution in the FTR. The MOB were enumerated for 161 samples obtained from 8 water depths on 23 sampling days over 16 months. The results obtained in this study will provide valuable basic data for a better understanding of MOB communities in the environment, giving insights into the global methane budget.