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Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. A major part of the total methane emissions from lake ecosystems is emitted from littoral wetlands. Methane emissions are significantly reduced by methanotrophs, as they use methane as their sole energy and carbon source. Methanotrophic activity can be either activated or inhibited by nitrogen. However, the effects of nitrogen on methanotrophs in littoral wetlands are unknown. Here we report how nitrogen loading in situ affected the function and diversity of methanotrophs in a boreal littoral wetland. Methanotrophic community composition and functional diversity were analyzed with a particulate methane monooxygenase (pmoA) gene targeted microarray. Nitrogen load had no effects on methane oxidation potential and methane fluxes. Nitrogen load activated pmoA gene transcription of type I (Methylobacter, Methylomonas, and LW21-freshwater phylotypes) methanotrophs, but decreased the relative abundance of type II (Methylocystis, Methylosinus trichosporium, and Methylosinus phylotypes) methanotrophs. Hence, the overall activity of a methanotroph community in littoral wetlands is not affected by nitrogen leached from the catchment area.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	methane, littoral wetland, methanotrophs, nitrogen, pmoA gene, pmoA transcript, pmoA microarray
Research Division:	Environmental Sciences
Research Group:	Ecological applications
Research Field:	Ecosystem function
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences
UTAS Author:	Bodrossy, L (Dr Levente Bodrossy)
ID Code:	119735
Year Published:	2012
Web of Science® Times Cited:	7
Deposited By:	Ecology and Biodiversity
Deposited On:	2017-08-04
Last Modified:	2017-09-26
Downloads:	156 View Download Statistics