Identification of active gaseous-alkane degraders at natural gas seeps

Farhan Ul Haque, Muhammad, Hernández, Marcela ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1041-785X, Crombie, Andrew T. and Murrell, J. Colin (2022) Identification of active gaseous-alkane degraders at natural gas seeps. The ISME Journal, 16 (7). 1705–1716. ISSN 1751-7362

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Abstract

Natural gas seeps release significant amounts of methane and other gases including ethane and propane contributing to global climate change. In this study, bacterial actively consuming short-chain alkanes were identified by cultivation, whole-genome sequencing, and stable-isotope probing (SIP)-metagenomics using 13C-propane and 13C-ethane from two different natural gas seeps, Pipe Creek and Andreiasu Everlasting Fire. Nearly 100 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) (completeness 70–99%) were recovered from both sites. Among these, 16 MAGs had genes encoding the soluble di-iron monooxygenase (SDIMO). The MAGs were affiliated to Actinobacteria (two MAGs), Alphaproteobacteria (ten MAGs), and Gammaproteobacteria (four MAGs). Additionally, three gaseous-alkane degraders were isolated in pure culture, all of which could grow on ethane, propane, and butane and possessed SDIMO-related genes. Two Rhodoblastus strains (PC2 and PC3) were from Pipe Creek and a Mycolicibacterium strain (ANDR5) from Andreiasu. Strains PC2 and PC3 encoded putative butane monooxygenases (MOs) and strain ANDR5 contained a propane MO. Mycolicibacterium strain ANDR5 and MAG19a, highly abundant in incubations with 13C-ethane, share an amino acid identity (AAI) of 99.3%. We show using a combination of enrichment and isolation, and cultivation-independent techniques, that these natural gas seeps contain a diverse community of active bacteria oxidising gaseous-alkanes, which play an important role in biogeochemical cycling of natural gas.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding: Work on this project was supported by the Leverhulme Trust (RPG2016-050) and ERC Advanced Grant (694578—IsoMet) to JCM, a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (ECF-2016-626) to ATC, and a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship (DHF\R1\211076) to MH.
Uncontrolled Keywords: ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics,microbiology,sdg 13 - climate action ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1105
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Molecular Microbiology
Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Biology
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 29 Mar 2022 09:30
Last Modified: 21 Apr 2023 01:29
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/84325
DOI: 10.1038/s41396-022-01211-0

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