Methanogens rapidly transition from methane production to iron reduction

Methanogenesis, the microbial methane (CH4 ) production, is traditionally thought to anchor the mineralization of organic matter as the ultimate respiratory process in deep sediments, despite the presence of oxidized mineral phases, such as iron oxides. This process is carried out by archaea that have also been shown to be capable of reducing iron in high levels of electron donors such as hydrogen. The current pure culture study demonstrates that methanogenic archaea (Methanosarcina barkeri) rapidly switch from methanogenesis to iron-oxide reduction close to natural conditions, with nitrogen atmosphere, even when faced with substrate limitations. Intensive, biotic iron reduction was observed following the addition of poorly crystalline ferrihydrite and complex organic matter and was accompanied by inhibition of methane production. The reaction rate of this process was of the first order and was dependent only on the initial iron concentrations. Ferrous iron production did not accelerate significantly with the addition of 9,10-anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) but increased by 11-28% with the addition of phenazine-1-carboxylate (PCA), suggesting the possible role of methanophenazines in the electron transport. The coupling between ferrous iron and methane production has important global implications. The rapid transition from methanogenesis to reduction of iron-oxides close to the natural conditions in sediments may help to explain the globally-distributed phenomena of increasing ferrous concentrations below the traditional iron reduction zone in the deep 'methanogenic' sediment horizon, with implications for metabolic networking in these subsurface ecosystems and in past geological settings.

Anaerobic oxidation of methane by sulfate in hypersaline groundwater of the Dead Sea aquifer

Geochemical and microbial evidence points to anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) likely coupled with bacterial sulfate reduction in the hypersaline groundwater of the Dead Sea (DS) alluvial aquifer. Groundwater was sampled from nine boreholes drilled along the Arugot alluvial fan next to the DS. The groundwater samples were highly saline (up to 6300 mm chlorine), anoxic, and contained methane. A mass balance calculation demonstrates that the very low δ(13) CDIC in this groundwater is due to anaerobic methane oxidation. Sulfate depletion coincident with isotope enrichment of sulfur and oxygen isotopes in the sulfate suggests that sulfate reduction is associated with this AOM. DNA extraction and 16S amplicon sequencing were used to explore the microbial community present and were found to be microbial composition indicative of bacterial sulfate reducers associated with anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) driving AOM. The net sulfate reduction seems to be primarily controlled by the salinity and the available methane and is substantially lower as salinity increases (2.5 mm sulfate removal at 3000 mm chlorine but only 0.5 mm sulfate removal at 6300 mm chlorine). Low overall sulfur isotope fractionation observed ((34) ε = 17 ± 3.5‰) hints at high rates of sulfate reduction, as has been previously suggested for sulfate reduction coupled with methane oxidation. The new results demonstrate the presence of sulfate-driven AOM in terrestrial hypersaline systems and expand our understanding of how microbial life is sustained under the challenging conditions of an extremely hypersaline environment.

Tracking the oxidative kinetics of carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids in the house sparrow using exhaled 13CO2

Clinicians commonly measure the 13CO2 in exhaled breath samples following administration of a metabolic tracer (breath testing) to diagnose certain infections and metabolic disorders. We believe that breath testing can become a powerful tool to investigate novel questions about the influence of ecological and physiological factors on the oxidative fates of exogenous nutrients. Here we examined several predictions regarding the oxidative kinetics of specific carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids in a dietary generalist, the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). After administering postprandial birds with 20 mg of one of seven 13C-labeled tracers, we measured rates of 13CO2 production every 15 min over 2 h. We found that sparrows oxidized exogenous amino acids far more rapidly than carbohydrates or fatty acids, and that different tracers belonging to the same class of physiological fuels had unique oxidative kinetics. Glycine had a mean maximum rate of oxidation (2021 nmol min−1) that was significantly higher than that of leucine (351 nmol min−1), supporting our prediction that nonessential amino acids are oxidized more rapidly than essential amino acids. Exogenous glucose and fructose were oxidized to a similar extent (5.9% of dose), but the time required to reach maximum rates of oxidation was longer for fructose. The maximum rates of oxidation were significantly higher when exogenous glucose was administered as an aqueous solution (122 nmol min−1), rather than as an oil suspension (93 nmol min−1), supporting our prediction that exogenous lipids negatively influence rates of exogenous glucose oxidation. Dietary fatty acids had the lowest maximum rates of oxidation (2-6 nmol min−1), and differed significantly in the extent to which each was oxidized, with 0.73%, 0.63% and 0.21% of palmitic, oleic and stearic acid tracers oxidized, respectively.