High-efficiency methane consumption by atmospheric methanotrophs in subsurface karst caves: The irrefutable methane sink

TL;DR

Microbes in underground caves efficiently consume methane from the atmosphere, acting as a significant but previously overlooked methane sink.

Contribution

Discovery of high-efficiency atmospheric methanotrophs in subsurface karst caves and their role as a major methane sink.

Findings

Methane oxidation rates in cave sediments increased from 2.9 to 90.7 ng·g−1·hour−1 with increasing methane concentration.

NanoSIMS and 13C-labeling confirmed methane as both carbon and energy source for methanotrophs.

Subsurface karst in southwest China is estimated to sequester ~0.56 Tg CH4 annually.

Abstract

Subsurface karst systems represent substantial but underexplored methane sinks, yet the identities and activities of cave-dwelling methanotrophs remain poorly characterized. We detected increased methane oxidation rates from 2.9 ± 0.1 to 90.7 ± 4.5 ng·g−1·hour−1 while supplied with 2 to 500 parts per million (ppm) CH4 to cave sediments. Atmospheric methanotroph Upland Soil Clusters γ (USCγ), responsible for this oxidation, was further assigned to three genera within the family Candidatus (Ca.) Methyloligotrophaceae, including two previously unrecognized genera. Nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) imaging and the produced 13C-PLFAs (phospholipid fatty acids) and 13CO2 in 13CH4-fed microcosm confirmed methane as both carbon and energy sources. These methanotrophs exhibited low half-saturation constant (Km; 138.8 ± 15.8 ppm), high carbon assimilation efficiency (>50%), and metabolic versatility, as revealed by metagenomics and metatranscriptomics analyses. By extrapolating global distribution of Ca. Methyloligotrophaceae and comparing methane oxidation rates between caves and soil ecosystems, we conservatively estimate that subsurface karst in southwest China sequester ~0.56 Tg CH4 annually. These findings highlight the ecological importance of karst ecosystems as a previously overlooked methane sink.

Microbes in subsurface caves consume trace amount of methane from the air.

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