Tracking substrate uptake and mRNA expression of aerobic methane-producing bacteria in pelagic waters of Yellowstone Lake
EMSL Project ID
50471
Abstract
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and understanding its sources and sinks is a core goal of the EMSL and DOE mission. Biological methane production is traditionally viewed as a process that can only occur in the absence of oxygen. In contrast to this traditional view, in deep, thermally stratified freshwater lakes a well-defined methane enriched zone is observed in the presence of oxygen. This zone is manifested as a distinct section of the water column wherein microbial methane production proceeds under oxygen-saturated conditions devoid of methanogenic archaea and is not associated with microbial activity in the sediment. From work in Yellowstone Lake, we have found that the microbial degradation of methylphosphonate and methylamine are very important to methane formation in this zone. We identified the most important microbial player associated with this process, have brought it into pure culture, and identified its methane-releasing enzyme. Here, we propose to use EMSL resources to study its physiology directly in waters of Yellowstone Lake. Specifically, our project plans to employ stable isotope probing and nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry to quantify potential nitrogen and carbon uptake from methylated compounds into individual methane-releasing cells. Furthermore, we will quantify the expression of methane-releasing enzymes in lake cells using mRNA-targeted fluorescence in situ hybridization in combination with super resolution microscopy.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2018-10-21
End Date
2019-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)